Reflections on the History of Western Attitudes to Nature

Abstract

This paper explores some of the fundamental ideas which have shaped Western attitudes toward the natural world. Four vital sets of ideas about nature and humanity, still current today, are examined: the relationship of the human race to other forms of life; the study of the interrelationships in the natural world; the transformation of nature by human agency; and subjective, emotional and aesthetic reactions to nature. Most of these ideas, though transformed throughout human history, have their roots in the classical world. Both classical and biblical conceptions were hospitable to an anthropocentric view of the role of human beings with regard to nature. The broader conception of the human race as a custodian of other forms of life has been a powerful ingredient in modern movements for conservation. Since about the middle of the 18th century, there has been increasing concern with the interrelationships in nature, and here two developments can be noted: the persistent idea of man as a geographic agent and the realization that human transformations of nature have provoked unforeseen and often unintended changes.