The concept of nature in Western thought has been informed by the assumption of a categorical distinction between natural and artificial entities, which goes back to John Stuart Mill or even Aristotle. Such a way of articulating the natural/artificial distinction has proven unfit for conservation purposes mainly because of the extent and the pervasiveness of human activities that would leave no nature left to be conserved, and alternative views have been advanced. In this contribution, after arguing for the importance of the concept of naturalness as a guide for conservation, I will try to provide an account of the natural/artificial distinction suited to contemporary conservation framing. Focusing on a particular kind of objects that I suggest to name “environmental objects”, I propose and defend the view of “naturalness as independence” according to which the more or less an environmental object's identity conditions and survival depend on human intervention, the more or less that object is artificial or natural, respectively. According to this view, conserving environmental objects will equate to maintaining or improving their naturalness (vis-à-vis their artefactualness) or even originating artificial objects that may become new natural objects. This view has the advantage, on the one hand, of providing a rationale for a distinction which is not only part of how people think, but also pervasive in conservation practices and policies and, on the other hand, of accounting for the global pervasiveness of human intervention in the so-called natural world.
...MoreSimilar Citations
Book
Leslie K. Miller;
Smart, Christopher;
Excell, Louis;
(2018)
Reimagining a place for the wild
Book
Lewis, Michael L.;
(2007)
American Wilderness: A New History
Article
Ashanti Shih;
(2019)
The Most Perfect Natural Laboratory in the World: Making and Knowing Hawaii National Park
Article
Emelie Fälton;
Tom Mels;
(2024)
Historical boundary struggles in the construction of the non-human world: Nature conservation and tourism in Swedish national parks
Article
Hudson, Wayne;
(2014)
Philosophy, Theology, and the Humanities
Book
Nelson, Michael P.;
Callicott, J. Baird;
(2008)
The Wilderness Debate Rages On: Continuing the Great New Wilderness Debate
Book
Radkau, Joachim;
Uekötter, Frank;
(2003)
Naturschutz und Nationalsozialismus
Book
Lekan, Thomas M.;
(2004)
Imagining the Nation in Nature: Landscape Preservation and German Identity, 1885-1945
Book
Williams, John A.;
(2007)
Turning to Nature in Germany: Hiking, Nudism, and Conservation, 1900--1940
Article
Alexander Lee;
(2020)
The Tragic Death of a Utah Goblin: Conservation and the Problem of Abiotic Nature
Book
Ramachandra Guha;
(2024)
Speaking with Nature: The Origins of Indian Environmentalism
Article
Lajus, Julia A.;
(2010)
History of the Study of Natural Resources as the “Common Territory” of History of Biology and Environmental History
Book
Myllyntaus, Timo;
Saikku, Mikko;
(2001)
Encountering the Past in Nature, Essays in Environmental History
Book
Johnson, Michael L.;
(2007)
Hunger for the Wild: America's Obsession with the Untamed West
Book
Casado de Otaola, Santos;
(2010)
Naturaleza patria: Ciencia y sentimiento de la naturaleza en la España del regeneracionismo
Chapter
Casado de Otaola, Santos;
(2007)
The Reenchantment of Nature. Spiritual Values and the History of Protected Areas: The Spanish Experience
Book
John Woinarski;
(2018)
A Bat's End: The Christmas Island Pipistrelle and Extinction in Australia
Article
Monica Vasile;
(2024)
From Reintroduction to Rewilding: Autonomy, Agency and the Messy Liberation of the European Bison
Book
Owen T. Nevin;
Ian Convery;
Peter Davis;
(2019)
The Bear: Culture, Nature, Heritage
Book
Adam Fish;
(2024)
Oceaning: Governing Marine Life with Drones
Be the first to comment!