환경 미학과 썩음의 미학- 자연미 체험의 양면성은 극복될 수 있는가?

Abstract

Environmental aesthetics deserves to be taken as separate area of aesthetics because it takes into consideration neither the art works nor any artificial presentation of nature or natural beings. It takes to its theme only what men experience, feel, and aesthetically appreciate in their direct encounter with (the beauty of) nature. It should be differentiated from the normal sense of aesthetics (whether philosophy of art or philosophy of criticism) because of the principle of the so-called “positive aesthetics” which demands that, so far as it concerns the beauty of nature, only positive aesthetics is applicable and negative or critical aesthetics should not be allowed. Does it mean that nature could be appreciated only as beautiful or pleasurable and not as ugly or unpleasant? These sort of position challenge the traditional point of view of nature so far as they contradict our general and long lasted view of nature that includes apparent bifurcation, and we have material evidences enough of the double-faced way of aesthetical appreciation of nature out of the long history of human encounter with nature. We know that there have been in our judgement on nature always the beautiful nature and the ugly nature, the pleasant nature and the unpleasant nature. - Do we have reasons enough to justify this challenge? Can we overcome the double-faced way of aesthetical appreciation of nature? Regarding these questions I propose to investigate following three subjects : 1) theories and concepts for justifying the principle of positive aesthetics; 2) some cases of exemplification for overcoming the double-faced aesthetical appreciation of the swamps and mud-flats; 3) the ecological relevance in justifying the positive aesthetics of the swamps and mud-flats. This investigation will lead us then automatically to the aesthetics of decay as the final theme of environmental aesthetics, so far as the process of decay is the very unavoidable constituent in the whole ecological process of recycling and re-creation of life that makes the swamps and mud-flats as ecologically valuable and aesthetically beautiful.