Land Ethic And Land Aesthetic:A Study Of Leopold's A Sand County Almanac

A Sand County Almanac is known for "land ethic."Land ethic extends ethical conscience to land community and proposes that "[a]thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity,stability and beauty of the biotic community." By including"beauty"in ethic criteria,Leopold conveys a land aesthetic compatible with his land ethic,providing environmental conservation with new guidance.Though existing studies have pointed out that Leopold's land aesthetic subverts the traditional picturesque aesthetic,they do not bother to explore the interrelationship between land ethic and land aesthetic.By reading Leopold's descriptions of Sand County and his travel notes,this thesis explores the interrelationship between land ethic and land aesthetic,suggesting that Leopold's proposal of land ethic and land aesthetic is his critical response towards Gilford Pinchot's utilitarian conservation.Chapter one explores "The Land Ethic,"Thinking Like a Mountain" and" Song of the Gavilan,"arguing that Leopold puts forward land ethic in his criticism of and revision to American utilitarian conservation.He points out that only protecting species of instrumental value for humans is short-sighted.Borrowing models of "food chains" and"community" from ecology,Leopold represents the intrinsic values of land community and asserts that land management and land use should consider the health of land.Chapter two analyzes "Conservation Esthetic," "The Green Pasture" and "Marshland Elegy"where Leopold conveys his land aesthetic when criticizing American conservation aesthetic.Leopold points out that utilitarian conservation transforms scenic wilderness into "picturesque commodity."In his appreciation of nature,Leopold inherits the subjectivity and individualization of picturesque aesthetic and subverts it by appreciating the aesthetic value of non-scenic places with senses like hearing,touching,smelling and seeing,and with knowledge of environmental history,geology,ecology etc.His land aesthetic also prefigures J.Baird Callicott's and Allen Carlson's natural aesthetics,which stress the importance of natural sciences in appreciating nature.Chapter three focuses on the interrelationship between land aesthetic and land ethic in "Wilderness,"Axe-in-Hand" and"Red Lanterns." One of the problems of utilitarian conservation is the incongruity between its emphasis on nature's instrumental value and its good intentions of preserving natural beauty.With knowledge about nature,land aesthetic appreciates the health of land and extends man's protection to the whole land community;therefore,it achieves the balance between aesthetic appreciation and ethical obligations.Moreover,Leopold's nature experiences combine aesthetic appreciation with emotional and behavioral changes,embodying what Holmes Rolston calls "from beauty to duty."In A Sand County Almanac,Leopold expresses his mature thoughts on conservation.Exploring his land ethic and land aesthetic in the context of utilitarian conservation endows them with practical significance.Rather than prohibiting land management and land use,Leopold intends to cultivate a refined taste in nature,with emphasis on its aesthetic value,and then encourages people to practice conservation according to the health of land.