Research On The View Of Ecological Nature In Thoreau’s Walden

Henry David Thoreau(1817~1862), as an American transcendental philosopher, natural litterateur and ideologist, is known as “the first interpreter of nature” and “the first believer of environmentalism” in the 19th-century American history. Being accompanied by nature throughout his life, he experienced the real nature amidst the mountains and rivers, so he can be considered as a lifelong visitor and caregiver of nature. His introspection on the relationship between man and nature sparks with early view of ecological nature, laying a theoretical foundation for the development of future ecological ethics.In the present age where the awareness of ecological protection is increasingly mature,humans start paying more attention to environmental protection as well as their damage to nature. Early in the 19 th century, Thoreau expressed his viewpoints of the relationship between man and nature in his masterpiece Walden. According to his viewpoints, humans should coexist with nature harmoniously and respect the inner value of every species, thus establishing a “love’s community”, namely, life community.This paper first places Thoreau’s view of ecological nature in the general background of history. Analyzing the background of the Industrial Revolution and his own advocate the spirit of independence,taking Emerson’s transcendentalist view of ecological nature as the theoretical foundation and the influence of the objective environment as logic starting point of its nature produce;it explores the times background and theoretical background for Thoreau’s view of ecological nature. Second, focus is placed on systematically analyzing the historical evolution of Thoreau’s ecological nature, including non-mechanical view of ecological nature,romantic view of ecological nature, transcendental view of ecological nature, religious view of ecological nature,to detail the Thoreau’s ecological view of nature from prototype to the mature experience of whole change.Third, through a detailed interpretation of Thoreau’s Walden, this paper deeply analyzes the ecological connotations contained in it, prominent Thoreau advocated the relationship between man and nature live in harmony;Finally, placing Thoreau’s view of ecological nature in the development of ecological thought in the west,through to the traditional western ecological thought in this paper, leads to the view of ecological nature advocated by Thoreau – getting rid of “anthropocentrism”,it probes into thepositive role of Thoreau’s view of ecological nature in promoting the rise of ecological thought in America and, thereby arousing the public’s environmental protection awareness and calling on modern people to build a new view of ecological nature.