The sublime has been a relatively neglected topic in recent work in philosophical aesthetics, with existing discussions confined mainly to problems in Kant's theory. Given the revival of interest in his aesthetic theory and the influence of the Kantian sublime compared to other eighteenth-century accounts, this focus is not surprising. Kant's…

In essence, biophilic design acknowledges urban living as a reality but proposes to integrate nature and natural forms into the built environment, with the goal of inducing biophilic responses and thereby fostering human well-being. The central goal of this paper is to highlight the possibilities of and challenges for biophilic design and discuss…

The methods by which environmental issues are aestheticized in late-twentieth-century film is directly and historically related to those established for grand manner painters by Nicholas Poussin (1594-1665) and taught at the French academy from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries. That these fundamentals were part of the training of…

Recent theories of the aesthetic appreciation of nature or natural environments have done much to clarify what might be essential to such appreciation. Such accounts are incomplete, however, as they depend on a strict separation between works of art and nature itself. This paper shows how classical Chinese landscape painting offers a way to…

Writing to her husband's first illustrator, Graham Robertson, in 1931, Elspeth Grahame thanked him for the gift of his recently published memoirs. She called them "entrancing" and goes on to note: "The touch is so light yet so sure that whatever the subject the reading of it would be full of pleasure to any lover of English…

This paper focuses on how the arts heighten cognitive experiences through the use of natural materials and sites and the engagement with the natural world. The arts expose viewers to new ways of seeing, feeling, and thinking about nature; this can lead to greater awareness of and motivation to act on behalf of nature. The author examines the…

The new paradigm in ecology emphasizes dynamic change, disturbance, and nonequilibrium in natural systems, and it presents some challenges for contemporary environmental aesthetics, one of which has to do with the thesis known as "scientific cognitivism." Scientific cognitivism holds that appropriate aesthetic appreciation of nature must be…

In what is in retrospect easily recognized as one of the three or four truly groundbreaking essays in environmental aesthetics, Francis Sparshott distinguishes a number of different ways of conceptualizing our relationships to our environments. Such different conceptualizations, he argues, deeply influence the ways in which we aesthetically…

This essay discusses the similarities and the differences between aesthetic appreciation of nature and of art, and canvasses attempts to delineate the scope of appropriate aesthetic appreciation of nature. It begins with a presentation of Kendall Walton's theory of appropriate art appreciation and explores its implications, specifically his…

For the most part, most people appreciate nature as spectators. Some portion of a natural scene is viewed as if it were a painting or photograph. However, thinking of nature solely or chiefly as an aesthetic scene to be observed is unnecessarily limiting. Regarding natural phenomena as material for detached, pictorial observation overlooks the…

Electronic technology has created a revolution in portability of information, documentation, and communication. We are now able to connect with people, information, organizations, and merchandise from anywhere at practically any time. As electronically fabricated environments replace actual physical surroundings, however, we become displaced.…

In this article, the author relates how she has developed an acute sensitivity to the nuances of movement through her sojourns in the beach. The author shares that the beach became her "determining ground" for her aesthetic experiences. As an artist, her artworks explore the many patterns and textures found through her attentiveness to landscapes.…