Table Of ContentAESTHETICS AND NATURE
Continuum Aesthetics
Series Editor: Derek Matravers, Open University and
University of Cambridge, UK
The Continuum Aesthetics Series looks at the aesthetic questions
and issues raised by all major art forms. Stimulating, engaging and
accessible, the series offers food for thought not only for students
of aesthetics, but also for anyone with an interest in philosophy
and the arts.
Titles available from Continuum:
Aesthetics and Architecture, Edward Winters
Aesthetics and Literature, David Davies
Aesthetics and Morality, Elisabeth Schellekens
Aesthetics and Music, Andy Hamilton
Forthcoming in 2008:
Aesthetics and Film, Katherine Thomson-Jones
Aesthetics and Painting, Jason Gaiger
Aesthetics and Nature, Glenn Parsons
AESTHETICS AND NATURE
GLENN PARSONS
Continuum International Publishing Group
The Tower Building 80 Maiden Lane
11 York Road Suite 704
London SE1 7NX New York NY 10038
www.continuumbooks.com
© Glenn Parsons, 2008
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system,
without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN-10: HB: 0-8264-9675-X
PB: 0-8264-9676-8
ISBN-13: HB: 978-0-8264-9675-1
PB: 978-0-8264-9676-8
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Parsons, Glenn.
Aesthetics and nature/Glenn Parsons.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 153).
ISBN 978-0-8264-9675-1
ISBN 978-0-8264-9676-8
1. Nature (Aesthetics) I. Title.
BH301.N3P37 2008
111´.85—dc22 2008004390
Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India
Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall
For Alice
This page intentionally left blank
CONTENTS
Introduction ix
1 Approaching the Philosophy of Natural Beauty 1
Two Worries About Natural Beauty 1
A Short History of Taste in Landscape 6
Philosophical Defi nition and ‘Having an
Aesthetic Quality’ 11
2 Imagination, Belief and the Aesthetics of Nature 18
The Role of Thought 18
A Post-modern Approach to the Aesthetics of Nature 23
Objections to the Post-modern Approach 26
3 Formalism 34
Formalism, Nature and Pictures 34
Strengths of Formalism 39
Objections to Formalism 43
4 Science and Nature Aesthetics 49
Science and the ‘Nature Critic’ 49
Another Turn in the Taste for Landscape? 54
Objections to the Science-based Approach 59
5 Pluralism 66
Modest Pluralism 66
Robust Pluralism 72
Objections to Pluralism 76
vii
CONTENTS
6 Nature and the Disembodied Aesthetic 81
The Challenge to the Disembodied Aesthetic 81
An Engaged Aesthetic for Nature 85
Criticisms of the Engaged Aesthetic 89
7 Aesthetics and the Preservation of Nature 95
Aesthetic Preservation in Theory and Practice 96
Two Issues for Aesthetic Preservation 102
The Preservationist’s Dilemma 107
8 Nature in the Garden 114
The Garden as Nature 114
The Garden as Art 118
Is Nature Essential to the Garden? 121
9 Art in Nature 128
Environmental Art : An Affront to Nature? 128
Defending Environmental Art 132
Is the Effrontery Charge Coherent? 137
Notes 141
Bibliography 153
Index 161
viii
INTRODUCTION
Human beings and the natural world have a complicated relationship.
Often, and necessarily to some extent, we treat nature as a source of
resources for human consumption, and, as such, a commodity that can be
bought and sold. At other times, we approach nature with the aim of
understanding it, with the perspective of the scientist or natural historian.
Sometimes we simply enjoy being in nature, engaging in activities such
as snorkelling or hiking. Some see nature through the prism of religion
and spirituality, whether an established religious code or more personal
beliefs and attitudes. And sometimes, we relate to nature by appreciating
its beauty, as when we marvel at the sight of a mighty mountain peak, or
gaze with pleasure on a heron labouring in fl ight. Because human inter-
ests and aims are so varied, and because nature itself is so vast, our
relationship with the natural world is a many-faceted one. Further, a par-
ticular encounter with nature may involve several of these ways of
relating to nature, perhaps even concurrently.
The complexity of our relationship to nature can make assessing it a
daunting task. But in recent times, the environmental movement has
imparted a certain urgency to just this idea. It has become clear that some
aspects of our relationship to nature pose signifi cant problems for nature
and for us. Consequently, it is incumbent upon us to refl ect on the ways
that we relate to nature, as complex and multifarious as these are, and to
ask what exactly each involves. This book is an introduction to some
recent refl ection on one of these dimensions of the human–nature rela-
tionship: the appreciation of natural beauty. Its aim is to determine more
precisely what is involved in the appreciation of natural beauty, and to
ask whether it is, ultimately, a worthwhile or acceptable way of relating
to nature.
The study of natural beauty can be carried out, of course, in different
ways, and many different disciplines have contributed to it. History,
geography, sociology and psychology have each delivered valuable
insights about natural beauty and our experience of it. This book, how-
ever, will generally restrict itself to one particular approach to the subject,
that of philosophy, and, more specifi cally, analytic philosophy. For vari-
ous reasons, philosophers in the analytic tradition have, historically
ix
