Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 4
Aesthetic and Moral Appreciation of Nature
in Philosophical Traditions of China
Shan Gao
Abstract
In Chinese philosophy, nature is viewed as an organic system that is
always in a self-generating process of production and reproduction of life. This
view of nature is best expressed by the Chinese philosophers as
sheng-sheng-bu-xi.
The metaphysical foundation for this perspective of nature is
ch'i,
a core concept in
Chinese philosophy as well as in Chinese everyday culture and worldview. The
Chinese aesthetic appreciation of nature is also aesthetic appreciation of
ch'i. Ch'i
has no physical form and is invisible and it is always in an unceasing process of
movement which produces and reproduces life. In Chinese philosophical traditions,
especially Confucianism and Daoism, these two characteristic of ch'i are aestheti-
cally expressed and appreciated as emptiness and creativity. The Chinese aesthetic
appreciation of emptiness and creativity of
ch'i
can be best illustrated in traditional
Chinese landscape painting. Nature has certain features or structures which trigger
certain emotions in the subject; and the subject whose mind has structures similar to
the structures or features of nature projects their cherished values onto nature.
Keywords
Biocultural ethics
ch'i
Creativity Earth stewardship Emptiness
Intercultural Self-realization
Confronted with global environmental change, inaugurating the second decade of
our twenty-fi rst century, the Ecological Society of America (ESA) launched the
“Earth Stewardship” initiative (Chapin et al.
2011
). However, Earth stewardship
requires examination of the terms themselves and the interrelationship between
them. These terms and relationships always are culturally embedded. Currently
most of the discussion of the Earth stewardship initiative proposed by the ESA is
being conducted within the Western scientifi c paradigm. However, in order to be
truly planetary and to broaden the spectrum of worldviews, it is necessary to step
outside this paradigm. This demands the incorporation of a biocultural ethic (Rozzi
2012
), which better represents and values the biocultural heterogeneity of the many
Search WWH ::
Custom Search