Towards The Wilderness: A Study Of Ralston 's Ecological Ethics

Holmes Rolston was a famous American pioneer of ecological ethicist and the environmental movement. He got much public attention especially when his “philosophy toward the wilderness” was presented. Wilderness performs high frequency of citation in his books and articles, which is a source of ecological ethics, and plays a significant role in his mind. In this paper, Holmes Rolston’s famous theory, wilderness, was served as clue, starting from the definition of wilderness given by traditional culture, development of wilderness was also summarized. Thereby, the wilderness was described in an elaborate and profound manner. Meanwhile, the ecological ethics theory that based on the value of wilderness is analyzed in detail. Considering the times as a reason, ecological ethics theory of Holmes Rolston brings us a positive inspiration also has its limitations. Therefore, the ecological ethics theory should be expounded in different perspectives and served as references.