Environmental Philosophy

While I am not an environmental science major, I am concerned with the state of the environment and want to do everything I can to not defile it any more than my existence already does. But I think I rest more with Dillard and Muir, where I respect and appreciate and want to observe and learn from Nature. I don’t think Nature is purely aesthetic, though that is a huge part and the aesthetics of Nature may help others to want to do their part to help the environment, but I do appreciate the beauty (and, as Dillard does, the horror) of Nature. I believe that all living beings deserve to be treated with respect, much as Berry does. But I also think all living things have something they can teach us if we observe them. This lesson may awaken inside ourselves and seem anthropocentric but without Nature it would not happen. I also agree with Cronon in that Nature has become endowed with the human. It seems that no part of the world is truly untouched by us and we place values into Nature that Nature does not acknowledge. Nature does not know herself to be sublime, though she is at times. I want to go out and receive Nature as she presents herself to me. I want to be kind to her and do the best I can not to harm her. Unfortunately, living the way I know how hurts Nature through waste and carelessness. And though I do my best, the little things I do can’t counteract the things that big industries do. So in order to not be overwhelmed by depression and hopelessness as to where the environment is going and how humans are impacting it, I like to sit in/with Nature and listen to what she has to say. Sometimes it’s sweet and sometimes it’s horrifying but it’s all important. I want to be able to do something to help and as someone who loves creative writing, I believe that the way I can help is by being like Dillard, or Cronon, or Muir in the way that they observe and notice and write. They listen to Nature and hear the good, the bad, and the ugly and they bring other people’s attention to it. I feel this is the best way I can help as well. While I might not be adept enough to climb a tree during a windstorm, I can still go out to more Natural places (though Nature does have a space in the human world) and learn what I can and inscribe it in stone (or rather hope to write it well and get it out there whether that be blogging more or publishing). We could not survive without Nature and she needs more recognition. And while things won’t change until humans are no longer power hungry and until bigger and more industrial facilities take note of how much they harm the environment, I can at least hope to make a small difference in a number of people who may go on to make bigger differences, setting off a chain reaction.