Level 63
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Aesthetics and Philosophy of Science

Environmental Aesthetics and Philosophy of Nature

The extension of aesthetic theory beyond the artwork to the natural world, and philosophical reflection on humanity's place within nature, from the sublime landscapes of Burke and the Romantics to contemporary debates over how to appreciate, and preserve, nature on its own terms.

60-Second Review

Express review

A condensed, point-by-point summary of the module, for reviewing right before a test or exam.

  1. The Sublime in Nature: From Burke to the Romantics. Burke and Kant theorized nature's sublime terror and vastness, later embraced by Romantic poets and painters.
  2. Thoreau and the Philosophy of Wilderness. Thoreau's Walden and wilderness writing shaped a lasting American philosophy of wildness.
  3. Environmental Aesthetics: Appreciating Nature on Its Own Terms. Environmental aesthetics asks how to appreciate nature correctly, without simply importing art's categories.
  4. The Picturesque Tradition and Its Critics. The picturesque framed landscapes like paintings, a taste later criticized as artificial and static.
  5. Ecological Aesthetics and the Aesthetics of Engagement. Berleant's aesthetics of engagement replaces detached contemplation with immersive, ecological experience.
  6. Nature, Art, and the Question of Environmental Value. Debates over nature's value ask whether beauty and worth are objective properties or human appraisals.
  7. Phenomenology of Landscape and Place. Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and others ground landscape experience in embodied dwelling and lived place.
  8. Aesthetic Arguments for Environmental Preservation. Aesthetic arguments have long justified, and sometimes biased, environmental preservation policy.

This module continues after "Philosophy of Technology and Artificial Intelligence" in the syllabus. If you haven't reviewed it yet, it may help set the context.

Key points

Visual module map

1The Sublime in Nature: From Burke to the Romantics
2Environmental Aesthetics: Appreciating Nature on Its Own Terms
3Ecological Aesthetics and the Aesthetics of Engagement
4Nature, Art, and the Question of Environmental Value
5Aesthetic Arguments for Environmental Preservation

Alternative visual view: a simplified sequence of some of the module's key points, in their order within the syllabus.

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Final test

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Optional mini-games

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Review Flashcards

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Memory

Match each concept with its definition in as few attempts as possible.

Time Attack

Answer true or false statements before time runs out.

Chronological Order

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Further reading

Bibliography and cited sources used to create this module.

  • Burke, E. (1757/1759). A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful (2nd ed.). London: R. and J. Dodsley.
  • Kant, I. (1790). Critique of the Power of Judgment (P. Guyer & E. Matthews, Trans., 2000 ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Thoreau, H.D. (1854). Walden; or, Life in the Woods. Boston: Ticknor and Fields.
  • Carlson, A. (2000). Aesthetics and the Environment: The Appreciation of Nature, Art and Architecture. London: Routledge.
  • Berleant, A. (1992). The Aesthetics of Environment. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
  • Leopold, A. (1949). A Sand County Almanac, and Sketches Here and There. New York: Oxford University Press.