Digital Commons@RISD Home > Division of Liberal Arts > Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive) > Vol. 21 (2023)
Abstract
Modern industrial societies mostly respond to the threat of climate breakdown with denial and neglect. In this paper, I argue that one of the causes of this is a superficial view of nature, including a shallow conception of natural beauty, and propose a deep aesthetic appreciation consisting of embodied participation, multisensorial perception, naturalist knowledge, and admiration without dominion. This appreciation focuses on following animal stories within the environment, an approach that will reveal how nature is not merely scenery but a network of interrelated stories that weaves the web of life and can be seriously damaged by climate chaos.