An Inquiry Into The Environmental Ethics Of Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau(Thoreau for short)was American famous thinker,litterateur,transcendental philosopher,naturalist and the pioneer of the western modern environmental protection movement in the 19 th century,called “the first saint of American environmentalism” and “the vital founder of American environmental ethics thought”.The essay is aimed at a whole analysis and summary of the basic connotation of Thoreau's environmental ethics thoughts,the theoretical traits and its influence.The essay can be divided into three parts.Firstly,the essay discusses systematically the theoretical and realistic foundation of the formation of Thoreau's environmental ethics thoughts.As to the theoretical foundation,his thoughts were influenced by Emerson's transcendental thoughts,the eastern culture and Indian culture.As to the realistic foundation,his thoughts benefit from personal experience and family environment.The second part summarizes the basic connotation of Thoreau's thoughts.,which can be divided into 3 parts: the ideas of life supreme,ecological holism and simple life.The 3rd part is based on the summary of the connotation of Thoreau's thoughts and analyzes its historical influence.His thoughts not only explore the basic road of the holism,but also have a positive influence on the beginning of Chinese environmental ethics.However,as to his thoughts,we can't imitate completely and should criticize and absorb them properly,which is of great importance to construct environmental ethics with Chinese characteristics.