Approaches to Nature Aesthetics: East Meets West Page: 70
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interesting.114 When one sees ephemeral aspects of nature, for example, seasonal
changes, impermanence of life and death of being, deep emotions (aware) arise. This sort
of emotional orientation to nature is regarded as an aesthetic response in the Japanese
tradition. Aesthetics based on personal emotions may be misunderstood as
anthropocentric and subjective because generally speaking, if there is no subjective
being, an aesthetic response does not arise. However, if we go back to the starting point
of this discussion, there is the concept of unity as a primary ground of the argument. The
phenomenal source of an impression of beauty is in the natural process. Self can be found
in this process as well. When we perceived natural beauty, it is not only in nature but also
within us. Natural beauty is a part of our impermanent existence and should be enhanced
fully. Therefore, aesthetics can be connected to an ethical consciousness. This
characteristic of aesthetics is important for achieving nature aesthetics as an approach to
environmental ethics.
An important contribution of Japanese aesthetics to environmental ethics is
providing some clues for achieving the coexistence of human culture and nature. It is
often pointed out that aesthetic value of nature decreases if humans interfere and alter the
natural world. The view that humans are a part of nature began to be emphasized;
nevertheless, it is still difficult to include humans in nature completely because the idea
that whatever we do is a part of natural processes has a potential to cause the wanton
exploitation of nature. Thus, the separation between humans and nature still exists. This
separation may be used as a justification for the claim that any kind of human
114 Shigeru Matsumoto, "The Concept of Mono No Aware," in Religion in the Japanese
Experience: Sources and Interpretations Second Edition, ed. H. Byron Earhart (Belmont: Wadsworth
Publishing Company, 1997), p. 29.70
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Toyoda, Mitsuyo. Approaches to Nature Aesthetics: East Meets West, thesis, December 2002; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc3305/m1/74/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .