In this paper I argue that aesthetic appreciation of nature should be reflective and based on respect for nature. I believe first-hand experience is crucial and that nature can be aesthetically experienced freely in a multi-sensory way. Aesthetic experience will bring attention to features of the environment which the subject needs to reflect on and make sense of. My main argument is how Yuriko Saito’s metaphorical notion of “lending your ears to nature’s own story” and “recognize its reality as apart from your own” can manifest the moral obligation of reflecting on what is given in experience. Some implications of this notion will be looked at. First, the perplexity that nature has its own reality and story apart from us while nature is also what encompasses our own life and grounds the experience of judging it. Contemplation on this issue may bring with it a strong sense of self- and environmental awareness that potentially can result in a sublime response. Second, to lend your ears to a story of a landscape leads to considerations about authenticity and true wilderness. I argue that one can think of wildness and authenticity to acquire a better understanding and one should not see those terms as a basis for value judgments. I will then take a closer look at the links between the moral considerations and the aesthetic experience itself. To preserve the autonomy of taste I separate the perceptive and reflective parts of aesthetic experience, saying that although both levels can inform one another, knowledge or moral considerations don’t necessarily determine aesthetic judgment. Departing from other cognitivists, I don’t think the wild is per definition beautiful, it is even sometimes difficult to aesthetically appreciate at all. In the last chapter I consider the significance of the sublime affect in establishing aesthetic relationships with more diverse environments.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-455648 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Thorlaksdottir, Una |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Avdelningen för estetik |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
Page generated in 0.0078 seconds