Abstract
In this paper I want to scrutinize one of the key ideas within modern Western aesthetics. Beauty is often considered to derive from a virtuous disinterested attitude towards nature. This kind of view has been advocated by thinkers such as Shaftesbury and Kant in the beginning of the so-called aesthetic turn in philosophy. The problem with this view is that it presupposes that nature exists by itself before human intervention in a kind of ideal pristine state. My hypothesis is that this ideal of pristine nature constitutes one of the underlying problems of many contemporary environmental discourses.
Original language | Undefined/Unknown |
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Pages (from-to) | 89–105 |
Journal | Nordic Journal of Aesthetics |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 40-41 |
Publication status | Published - 2011 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Keywords
- Pristine nature
- Culture
- Natural beauty
- Disinterestedness
- Picturesque
- Sublime