Environmental Aesthetics and Public
Environmental Philosophy
Katherine W. Robinson & Kevin C. Elliot
Seminar Presentation
Taylor Edmund
April 11, 2012
Prof. Hettinger
The Lily pond story
Killing the lilies, diminish the clarity of the water, and
contaminate a connecting lake
Aesthetic considerations are motivational
“Sense of place”
Aesthetic concerns shine light on other issues
Aesthetic considerations should play a role in developing a
public environmental philosophy
The purpose
Beauty is an important reason for protecting nature
To make a case for environmental aesthetics
Aesthetic Integrity
Central to people’s sense of place
Written to be motivational instrument
Aesthetic Integrity
Complexity of environmental aesthetics calls for this concept
“a kind of aesthetic principle for strategy and planning”
(Brady 2002, 75)
Environmental, ecological, and diachronic integrity
Difficult to evaluate aesthetic integrity, but is often easier to
point out detriments to the aesthetic integrity
Examples of threats to aesthetic integrity
Differences in opinions and problems with economics
Importance of Aesthetic
Integrity
A fundamental component in public environmental
philosophy
Important in our sense of place
People’s attachment and care of a particular place
Aesthetic integrity and its position in “sense of place”
Stedman’s Study (2003)
3 models of how a landscape may influence the sense of
place
Direct Effects Model
Meaning-mediated Model
Experiential Model
The “take-home lesson”
Moral Importance
Problems with developing a public environmental
philosophy
Sense of place is not only a motivational aspect, but affects
human well-being
AIP Principle
Kant and Mill
degradation is a moral issue
3 environmental rights in democracy
the Green Diamond case
Economic impacts
What did the citizens do?
The 4 lessons about aesthetic integrity
effectiveness, deliberation, umbrella and objectivity
Useful on a national and global scale
The case cont..
Use other issues to benefit environmental concerns
4 significant effects
Generating more interest
Subjectivity of aesthetic judgements
Conclusion
What should philosophers be doing?
Using the frames
Changing the institutions
Social learning
Bettering the importance of aesthetic integrity
Works Cited
Katherine W. Robinson & Kevin C. Elliot (2011):
Environmental Aesthetics and Public Environmental
Philosophy, Ethics, Policy & Environment, 14:2, 175-191