Seminar on Natural Beauty
Ned Hettinger, Spring 2012

Syllabus
Schedule

Short paper assignment

Final Paper Schedule
Places to look for articles
Suggestions for writing your philosohy paper
Semiar Paper Assessment Rubric
Procedure for circulating drafts

Questions Natural Beauty Seminar

Stanford Encyclopedia entry on Environmental Aesthetics

Date
Readings for Class
Class Notes
Miscellaneous
Monday, April 30
Final version of the paper due (paper copy please)
     

Wed, April 25, 12-3, Final Exam
Study Questions

Copy of earlier final exam for similar course

     
Mon, April 23
Pres: Shelby; CQ: Cody & Taylor

Positive Aesthetics

Ned Hettinger, “Evaluating Positive Aesthetics”

Shelby on Hettinger on PA
Ned outline of Ned on PA

Evaluating Positive Aesthetics Powerpoint

 
Friday, April 15: Substantial comments (1-2 pages) on another student’s draft (send copy to me also)      
Wed, April 18:
Pres: Cody; CQ: Justin, Zack, & Tyler

 

Yuriko Saito, “The Aesthetics of Unscenic Nature”


Cody on Saito

Ned on Saito

 

Mon, April 16
Pres: Shannon; CQ: Emily, Kelsey


Holmes Rolston III, “Is All Beauty in Nature?”, “Ugliness Transformed in Ecosystemic Perspective,” and “Beyond Beauty to the Sublime"

Shannon on Rolston's Positive Aesthetics

Ned Powerpoint on Rolston on Positive Aesthetics

 

Friday, April 13
Draft of paper (at least 5 pages) for the instructor and a classmate both of whom will provide you with comments
Procedure for circulating drafts

Aesthetic Protectionism/Preservationsim
 
Leon, Morally Wrong Beauty as a Source of Value

Wed, April 11
Pres: Taylor; CQ: Katy & Tyler

Katherine Robinson and Kevin Elliott "Environmental Aesthetics and Public Environmental Philosophy"

Taylor on Robinson & Elliott

Ned on Robinson & Elliott

Christo's latest Env Art Project
Mon, April 9
Pres: Kelsey; CQ: Cody & Shelby

Loftis, J. Robert, "Three Problems for the Aesthetic Foundations of Environmental Ethics"

Kelsey on Loftis

Ned on Loftis

"Aesthetics in Participatory, Socially Engaged Art" Michael Kelly, Thursday, April 12, 3:15PM Tate Center 202

Tom Leddy, "The Aesthetics of Junkyards and Roadside Clutter"

Fri, April 6
Summaries of two articles you will use in your paper and discussion of how you will use them
Relativity and Objectivity in the Aesthetics of Nature
 
Apr 2-5: Sustainability Week (flier)
Details about Sustainability Week
McKibben Talk
Wed, April 4
Pres: Tyler; CQ: Justin & Shelby
Ned Hettinger, “Objectivity in Environmental Aesthetics and Protection of the Environment”

Tyler on Hettinger's Objectivity in Env Aes and Aes Protectionsim

Ned on Hettinger Objectivity
Powerpoint
Outline

 
Mon, April 2
Pres: Emily; CQ: Zack & Katy
Ronald Hepburn, "Trivial and Serious in Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature"

Emily on Hepburn's Trivial & Serious

Ned on Hepburn's Trivial and Serious

 
Friday, March 30:  
One page description of topic/questions addressed by the proposed paper and a list 3 or 4 philosophy articles that you are considering using in the paper (provide complete bibliographic references and include abstracts, if available)
     
Wed, March 28
Malcolm Budd from The Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature: 1.7 “Knowledge of Nature,” pp. 19-23; 3.3 “Appreciating Nature as What Nature Actually Is” pp. 95-97; 3.5 "Freedom and Relativity in the Aesthetic appreciation of Nature” pp. 106-109; 4.6 “Categories of Nature and Objectivity” pp. 121-124; 4.8 “Freedom, Relativity, Objectivity, and Positive Aesthetics” pp. 127-129; 4.10 “A Chimerical Quest” pp. 146-148.
Budd on Knowledge and Correct Aes Appreciation of Nature

Mon, March 26
Pres: Justin; CQ: Shannon & Emily

John Fisher “What the Hills are Alive With—In Defense of the Sounds of Nature"
and
J. A. Walter, "You'll Love the Rockies"

Justin on Fisher

Ned on Fisher

Noise in National Parks


Fisher's webpage

Sounds of the Wild: Barred Owls, Loons, Wolves

Cardinal’s call (another); Elk’s bugle; Call of a loon (another)

Fri, March 23: Paragraph describing possible paper topic due
     
Wed, March 21
Pres: Katy; CQ: Tyler & Taylor
Another defense of scientific cognitivism
Patricia Matthews “Scientific Knowledge and the Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature”
Katy on Matthews

Ned on Matthews
 

Monday, March 19
Pres: Zack; CQ: Shannon & Kelsey

Formalism and Nature Appreciation
Nick Zangwill, “Formal Natural Beauty”

Zack on Zangwill

Polar bear swiming underwater

Ned on Zangwill's Formal Natural Beauty


Zangwill webpage


Week of Glenn Parsons' Visit
   
Thur, Mar 15: 3:15-4:45
Wachovia Auditorium
115 Beatty Center

Glenn Parsons
The Norms of
Nature Appreciation

 

Parsons webpage
Wed, Mar 14
CQ: All students
Glenn Parsons, Should we Save Nature’s Hidden Gems?
Parsons on Aesthetic Preservation of Hidden Gems
 

Mon, Mar 12
Pres: Ned; CQ: Shannon, Shelby

Robert Stecker, “Epistemic Norms, Moral Norms and Nature Appreciation”
Stecker on Norms for Nature Appreciation

Stecker webpage
 
Engagement
   

Wed, Feb 29
Pres: Cody; CQ: Taylor, Zack

Arnold Berleant, “The Aesthetics of Art and Nature

Cody on Berleant

Ned on Berleant's Aes of Engagement


Berleant webpage
Mon, Feb 27
Pres: Justin; CQ: Kelsey, Shelby
Holmes Rolston, III “Does Aesthetic Appreciation of Landscapes Need to be Science-Based?”
Justin on Rolston

Ned on Rolston on Landscape Appreciation Science-Based?

Rolston webpage
 
Imagination and the Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature
   
Wed, Feb 22
Pres: Emily; CQ: Taylor, Cody
Emily Brady, “The Integrated Aesthetic II: Imagination”

Emily on Brady on Imagination

Ned on Brady on Imagination
Brady's Examples

 

Mon, Feb 20
Pres: Kelsey; CQ: Justin, Cody

Marcia Eaton, “Fact and Fiction in the Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature”

Kelsey on Eaton

Ned on Eaton on Fact/Fiction


Eaton webpage
Emotional responses to nature and nature’s expressive properties
Wed, Feb 15
Pres: Zack; CQ: Shelby, Tyler
Emily Brady, “Emotion, Expressive Qualities, and Nature” pp. 172-183.

Zack on Brady on Emotion/Expressive Qualities

Ned on Brady on Emotion


Brady webpage
Brady at Princeton

Monday, Feb 13
Pres: Taylor; CQ: Emily, Zack


Carroll, Noel, "On Being Moved by Nature: Between Religion and Natural History"

Taylor on Carroll

Ned on Carroll, On Being Moved by Nature


Carroll webpage
 
Responses to Carlson’s Cognitivism
   
Wednesday, Feb 8
Pres: Shelby; CQ: Kelsey, Justin
Robert Stecker, “Environmental Aesthetics; Natural Beauty"

Shelby on Stekcer

Ned on Stecker Chapter on Env Aes


Stecker webpage
Monday, Feb 6
Pres: Tyler; CQ: Emily, Katy
Thomas Heyd, “Aesthetic Appreciation and the Many Stories about Nature”
Tyler on Heyd

Ned on Heyd's Many Stories about Nature

Heyd webpage
 
Knowledge-Based Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature (Cognitivism)
   
Wednesday, Feb 1
Pres: Shannon; CQ: Katy
Carlson, “Nature, Aesthetic Judgment, and Objectivity”
Shannon on Carlson

Ned on Carlson, Nature, Aes Judge, Objectivity
 
Monday, Jan 30
Pres: Katy; CQ: Tyler, Shannon
Allen Carlson, “Appreciation and the Natural Environment"

Katy Robinson on Carlson

Ned on Carlson App and Natural Env

What is Aesthetics?
   
Wednesday, Jan 25
Yuriko Saito,“Neglect of Everyday Aesthetics,” from Saito’s Everyday Aesthetics (Oxford Univ Press, 2007), pp. 9-53.
Saito, Everyday Aesthetics
Monday, Jan 23
Gary Iseminger, "Aesthetic Experience"
Iseminger, Aes Experience
Levinson, Artistic Worth and Personal Taste
Wed, Jan 18
Alan Goldman, "The Aesthetic"
Goldman, The Aesthetic
 
Wed, Jan 11
Ronald Hepburn “Contemporary Aesthetics and the Neglect of Natural Beauty”
Hepburn, Neglect of Natural Beauty
Mon, Jan 9:
Introduction
Why Environmental Aesthetics?
 
       
FUTURE SCHEDULE BELOW
     

Schedule for Natural Beauty Seminar
Spring 2012, Hettinger

Why Environmental Aesthetics (& What Is It?)
1. Jan 9: Introduction
2. Jan 11: Ronald Hepburn “Contemporary Aesthetics and the Neglect of Natural Beauty”

What is Aesthetics?
3. Jan 18: Alan Goldman, "The Aesthetic," in Berys Gaut and Dominic Lopes, eds., Routledge Companion to Aesthetics (2001), pp. 181-192.
4. Jan 23: Gary Iseminger, "Aesthetic Experience," in Oxford Handbook of Aesthetics (2003), ed. by Jerrold Levinson, pp. 99-116.
5. Jan 25: Yuriko Saito,“Neglect of Everyday Aesthetics,” from Saito’s Everyday Aesthetics (Oxford Univ Press, 2007), pp. 9-53.

Knowledge-Based Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature (Cognitivism)
6. Jan 30: Allen Carlson, “Appreciation and the Natural Environment,” Ch 4 of Aesthetics and the Natural Environment (Routledge, 2000), pp. 41-53
Pres: Katy; CQ: Tyler, Shannon

7. Feb 1: Carlson, “Nature, Aesthetic Judgment, and Objectivity” Ch 5 of Aesthetics and the Natural Environment (Routledge, 2000), pp. 54-71.
Pres: Shannon; CQ: Katy

Responses to Carlson’s Cognitivism
8. Feb 6: Thomas Heyd, “Aesthetic Appreciation and the Many Stories about Nature,” British Journal of Aesthetics 41, 2001.
Pres: Tyler; CQ: Emily, Katy

9.Feb 8: Robert Stecker, “Environmental Aesthetics; Natural Beauty,” Ch. 2 of Stecker’s Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art: An Introduction, pp. 13-33 (response to Carlson and very thorough disicussion of whole subject–role of kn and other dimensions)
Pres: Shelby; CQ: Kelsey, Justin

Emotion responses to nature and nature’s expressive properties
10.Feb 13: Carroll, Noel, "On Being Moved by Nature: Between Religion and Natural History," in Salim Kemal and Ivan Gaskell, eds., Landscape, Natural Beauty and the Arts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), pages 244-266.
Pres: Taylor; CQ: Emily, Zack

11.Feb 15: Emily Brady, “Emotion, Expressive Qualities, and Nature,” in Aesthetics of the Natural Environment (Edinburgh, Great Britain: Edinburgh University Press, 2003) pp. 172-183.
Pres: Zack; CQ: Shelby, Tyler

Imagination and the Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature
12. Feb 20: Marcia Eaton, “Fact and Fiction in the Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature” in A. Berleant and A. Carlson (eds.) Special Issue: Environmental Aesthetics, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 56 (1998): 149-56.
Pres: Kelsey; CQ: Justin, Cody

13.Feb 22: Emily Brady, “The Integrated Aesthetic II: Imagination. . . ” Ch. 6 of Aesthetics of the Natural Environment (Edinburgh, Great Britain: Edinburgh University Press, 2003), pp. 146-172
Pres: Emily; CQ: Taylor, Cody

Engagement
14. Feb 27: Rolston, Holmes, III 1995. “Does Aesthetic Appreciation of Landscapes Need to be Science-Based?” British Journal of Aesthetics 35 (4), pp. 374-386.
Pres: Justin; CQ: Kelsey, Shelby

15. Feb 29: Arnold Berleant, “The Aesthetics of Art and Nature,” in Carlson and Berleant, eds., The Aesthetics of Natural Environments, pp 76-88 (Broadview Press, 2004).
Pres: Cody; CQ: Taylor, Zack

SPRING BREAK

Week of Glenn Parsons visit (March 12-15)
16. Mar 12: Robert Stecker, “Epistemic Norms, Moral Norms and Nature Appreciation” (on to what extent there are epistemic and moral norms for aes appreciation of nature–including discussion of beautiful pollution sunsets), Fall 2011, Draft,
CQ: Shannon, Shelby

17. Mar 14: Glenn Parsons, Should we Save Nature’s Hidden Gems? Draft
CQ: All students

Thursday, Mar 15: 3:15-4:45, VISITING LECTURE: Glenn Parsons, The Norms of Nature Appreciation

Formalism and Nature Appreciation
18. Nick Zangwill, “Formal Natural Beauty” Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 2001, pp. 209-224.
Pres: Zack; CQ: Shannon & Kelsey
Monday, March 19

Additional readings on formalism
1. Glenn Parsons, “Natural Functions and the Aesthetic Appreciation of Inorganic Nature,” British Journal of Aesthetics 44 (2004) 44-56.
2. Allen Carlson and Glenn Parsons, "New Formalism and the Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature," Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 62 (2004): 363-376.
3. Zangwill, Nick, “In Defence of Extreme Formalism about Inorganic Nature: Reply to Parsons” British Journal of Aesthetics, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 185-191, April 2005.
4. Nick Zangwill, “Rocks and Sunsets: A Defense of Ignorant Pleasures,” Revista di Estetica, n.s., 29 (2/2005), XLV, pp. 53-59.
5. Allen Carlson, “Formal qualities in the natural environment” Ch 3 of Aesthetics and the Natural Environment (Routledge, 2000), pp. 28-40.
6. Nick Zangwill, "Clouds of Illusion in the Aesthetics of Nature", Philosophical Quarterly, 2009.

Another defense of scientific cognitivism
19. Patricia Matthews “Scientific Knowledge and the Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature,” Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 60 (2002) 37-48.
Pres: Katy; CQ: Tyler & Taylor
Wed, March 21

Additional Readings
1. Glenn Parsons, “Theory, Observation, and the Role of Scientific Understanding in the Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature,” Canadian Journal of Philosophy 36 (2006) 165-186
2. Malcolm Budd, “Knowledge of Nature,” in The Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature: Essays on the Aesthetics of Nature (New York : Oxford University Press, 2002), pp. 19-23

Relativity and Objectivity in the Aesthetics of Nature

20. John Fisher “What the Hills are Alive With—In Defense of the Sounds of Nature,” in The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 50:2, 1998, 167-179, and J. A. Walter, "You'll Love the Rockies," Landscape 17, 2, (1983):43-47.
Pres: Justin; CQ: Shannon & Emily
Mon, March 26

21. Malcolm Budd on Relativity in Nature Appreciation from The Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature: Essays on the Aesthetics of Nature (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002): 1.7 “Knowledge of Nature,” pp. 19-23; 3.3 “Appreciating Nature as What Nature Actually Is” pp. 95-97; 3.5 "Freedom and Relativity in the Aesthetic appreciation of Nature” pp. 106-109; 4.6 “Categories of Nature and Objectivity” pp. 121-124; 4.8 “Freedom, Relativity, Objectivity, and Positive Aesthetics” pp. 127-129; 4.10 “A Chimerical Quest” pp. 146-148.
Wed, March 28

22. Ronald Hepburn, "Trivial and Serious in Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature," in Salim Kemal and Ivan Gaskell eds., Landscape, Natural Beauty and the Arts Cambridge, 1993, pp. 65-77.
Pres: Emily; CQ: Zack & Katy
Mon, April 2

23. Ned Hettinger, “Objectivity in Environmental Aesthetics and Protection of the Environment,” in Allen Carlson and Sheila Lintott, eds., Duty to Beauty: From Aesthetics of Nature to Environmentalism (New York: Columbia University Press, 2008) (available on class web page)
Pres: Tyler; CQ: Justin & Shelby
Wed, April 4

Additional readings on objectivity/relativity
i. Fisher and Hettinger, Draft, “Objectivity and Environmental Aesthetics: Is Natural Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder?”
ii. Sibley on Objectivity yes! Frank Sibley, “Objectivity and Aesthetics,” Proceedings of the Aristotelean Society, Supplementary vol 42 1968.
iii. Yuriko Saito, "Is There a Correct Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature?" Journal of Aesthetic Education, 18 (Winter 1984): 35-46.
iv. Kendall Walton, "Categories of Art," Philosophical Review 79 (1970) 339-67
v. **Carlson,“Nature, Aesthetic Judgment, and Objectivity” Ch 5 of Aesthetics and the Natural Environment (Routledge, 2000), 54-71
vi. Parsons, Glenn, 2006. “Freedom and Objectivity in the Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature,” British Journal of Aesthetics 46, 1: 17-37.
vii. Malcolm Budd, “Objectivity and the Aesthetic Value of Nature: Reply to Parsons,” British Journal of Aesthetics 46/3 (July 2006): 267-273.

Aesthetic Protectionism

24. Loftis, J. Robert, "Three Problems for the Aesthetic Foundations of Environmental Ethics," Philosophy in the Contemporary World 10 (no. 2, Fall-Winter 2003):41-50.
Pres: Kelsey; CQ: Cody & Shelby
Mon, April 9

25. Kevin Elliott and Katherine Robinson, "Environmental Aesthetics and Public Environmental Philosophy," Ethics, Policy, & Environment 14 (2011)
Pres: Taylor; CQ: Katy & Tyler
Wed, April 11

Additional readings on aesthetic protectionism
i. Brady, E. 2006. 'Aesthetics in Practice: Valuing the Natural World', Environmental Values, 15:3, 2006 277-291. (O’Neill says that she discusses conflicts between particular forms of aes value and other env. Values).
ii. Comedy-central and Stewart windmill nimbyism on Nantucket-
https://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/player.jhtml?ml_video=91140&ml_collection=&ml_gateway=&ml_gateway_id=&ml_comedian=&ml_runtime=&ml_context=show&ml_origin_url=/shows/the_daily_show/index.jhtml&ml_playlist=&lnk=&is_larg iii. Fisher and Hettinger, Draft “Chap 5: Environmentalist’s Worries about the Relevance of Aesthetics ” (available on class web page)
iv. Stan Godlovitch, “Aesthetic Protectionism,” Journal of Applied Philosophy 6,2 1989 pp. 171-181
v. **Saito, Yuriko “The Role of Aesthetics in Civic Environmentalism,” in Arnold Berleant and Allen Carlson, eds., The Aesthetics of Human Environments (Peterborough, Ont: Broadview, 2007), pp. 203-18.
vi. Thompson, Janna, “Aesthetics and the Value of Nature,” Environmental Ethics 17 (1995) 291-305.
vii. Ned Hettinger, “Allen Carlson's Environmental Aesthetics and the Protection of the Environment,” Environmental Ethics 27, 1 (Spring 2005): 57-76.
viii. Holmes Rolston, "From Beauty to Duty: Aesthetics of Nature and Environmental Ethics." Pages 127-141 in Arnold Berleant, eds., Environment and the Arts: Perspectives on Environmental Ethics (Aldershot, Hampshire, UK and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2002)
ix. Marcia Eaton, “The Beauty that Requires Health,” in J. Nassauer, ed., Placing Nature: Culture and Landscape Ecology (Island Press, 1997): pp. 86-106.
x. Carlson, Ch 9: “Environmental Education and the Dilemma of Aesthetic Education” in Aesthetics and the Natural Environment (Routledge, 2000), pp. 138-149
xi. Ned Hettinger “Animal Beauty, Ethics, and Environmental Preservation”
xii. Robert Elliott, Faking Nature: The Ethics of Environmental Restoration (Routledge, 1997) pp. 58-73 (“Naturalness and other bases of natural value” and “Aesthetic value and intrinsic value”)
xiii. Sheila Lintott "Toward Eco-Friendly Aesthetics," Environmental Ethics 28,1 (Spring 2006): 57-76.
xiv. Emily Brady, Ch 8, “Aesthetics, Ethics and Environmental Conservation” in Aesthetics of the Natural Environment (Edinburgh, Great Britain: Edinburgh University Press, 2003), pp. 224-267.

Positive Aesthetics

26. Holmes Rolston III, “Is All Beauty in Nature?”, “Ugliness Transformed in Ecosystemic Perspective,” and “Beyond Beauty to the Sublime,” selections from Environmental Ethics: Duties to and Values in the Natural World (Temple University Press, 1988), pp. 237-245.
Pres: Shannon; CQ: Emily, Kelsey
Mon, April 16

27. Yuriko Saito, “The Aesthetics of Unscenic Nature” in A. Berleant and A. Carlson (eds.) Special Issue: Environmental Aesthetics, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 56 (1998): 102-111.
Pres: Cody; CQ: Justin, Zack
Wed, April 18

28. Ned Hettinger, “Evaluating Positive Aesthetics” Draft
Pres: Shelby; CQ: Cody & Taylor
Mon, April 23

Additional readings positive aesthetics
i. Glenn Parsons, “Nature Appreciation, Science and Positive Aesthetics” British Journal of Aesthetics 42,3, July 2002.
ii. Allen Carlson, "Nature and Positive Aesthetics," Environmental Ethics 6 (1984): 5-34.
iii. John Fisher, “All (Wild) Animals are Beautiful” draft paper.
iv. Malcolm Budd on Positive Aesthetics from The Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature: Essays on the Aesthetics of Nature (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002): 3.4 “Positive Aesthetics with Respect to Nature,” pp. 97-107; 4.7 “Positive Aesthetics” pp. 125-127