Abstract
The source of the value of naturalness is of considerable relevance for the conservation movement, to philosophers, and to society generally. However, naturalness is a complex quality and resists straightforward definition. Here, two interpretations of what is “natural” are explored. One of these assesses the naturalness of species and ecosystems with reference to a benchmark date, such as the advent of industrialization. The value of naturalness in this case largely reflects prioritization of the value of biodiversity. However, the foundation of our understanding of naturalness is that it describes processes that are free of human intervention. Conflict between the two interpretations of naturalness is apparent in the claim that naturalness can be enhanced by human intervention, in the form of ecological restoration. Although naturalness in its purest form precludes human intervention, some human activities are also apparently more natural than others. This continuum of naturalness relates to the autonomy of the individual from abstract instrumentalism, which describes a particular form of influence ubiquitous in contemporary society. The value of naturalness reflects both dissatisfaction with these threats to personal autonomy, and respect for wild nature as the embodiment of a larger-than-human realm.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Angermeier P. L. (2000) The Natural Imperative for Biological Conservation. Conservation Biology 14:373–381
Barry D., Oelschlaeger M. (1996) A Science for Survival: Values and onservation Biology. onservation Biology 10:905–911
Brennan A. (1988) Thinking about Nature: An Investigation of Nature, Value and Ecology. London, Routledge
Budiansky S. (1995) Nature’s Keepers: The New Science of Nature Management. New York, The Free Press
Burgess J. A., Walsh A. J. (1998) Is Genetic Engineering Wrong, Per Se?. The Journal of Value Inquiry 32:393–406
Carruthers P. (1992) The Animals Issue: Moral Theory in Practice. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
Cérézuelle D. (2004) Nature and Freedom: An Introduction to the Environmental Thought of Bernard Charbonneau. In: Foltz B. V., Frodeman R. (eds.) Rethinking Nature: Essays in Environmental Philosophy. Bloomington, Indiana University Press, pp. 314–329
Clark J. (2002) Bernard Charbonneau: Regionalism and the Politics of Experience. Capitalism, Nature, Socialism 13:41–48
Cole D. N. (2005) Symbolic Values: The Overlooked Values that Make Wilderness Unique. International Journal of Wilderness 11:23–27
Czech B. (2004) A Chronological Frame of Reference for Ecological Integrity and Natural Conditions. Natural Resources Journal 44:1113–1136
Davis M. (2002) Dead Cities and Other Tales. New York, The New Press
Drew W. (1986) Killing Wilderness. The Trumpeter 3:19–23
Elliot R. (1997) Faking Nature: The Ethics of Environmental Restoration. London, Routledge
Ellis R. J. (1998) The Dark Side of the Left: Illiberal Egalitarianism in America. Lawrence, University Press of Kansas
Fox N. (2002) Against the Machine: The Hidden Luddite Tradition in Literature, Art, and Individual Lives. Washington, DC, Island Press
Fox W. (1995) Toward a Transpersonal Ecology: Developing New Foundations for Environmentalism. Foxhole, Resurgence
Glover J. M. (2000) Soul of the Wilderness: Can We Stop Trying to Control Nature? International Journal of Wilderness 6:4–8
Goodin R. E. (1992) Green Political Theory. Cambridge, Polity Press
Haila Y. (1997) A ‚Natural’ Benchmark For Ecosystem Function. Conservation Biology 11:300–301
Hargrove E. C. (1989) Foundations of Environmental Ethics. Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall
Heyd T. (2005) Introduction. In: Heyd T. (ed.) Recognizing the Autonomy of Nature: Theory and Practice. New York, Columbia University Press, pp. 1–22
Higgs E. (2003) Nature by Design: People, Natural Process, and Ecological. Restoration Cambridge, The MIT Press
Hull R. B., Richert D., Seekamp E., Robertson D., Buhyoff G. J. (2003) Understandings of Environmental Quality: Ambiguities and Values Held by Environmental Professionals. Environmental Management 31:1–13
Jordan W. R. (1994) ‚Sunflower Forest’: Ecological Restoration as the Basis for a New Environmental Paradigm. In: Baldwin A. D., de Luce J., Pletsch C. (eds.) Beyond Preservation: Restoring and Inventing Landscapes. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, pp. 17–34
Jordan W. R. (2005) Autonomy, Restoration, and the Law of Nature, In: Heyd T. (ed.) Recognizing the Autonomy of Nature: Theory and Practice. New York, Columbia University Press, pp. 189–205
Katz E. (1997) Nature as Subject: Human Obligation and the Natural Community. Lanham, Rowman & Littlefield
Kirkman R. (2002) Skeptical Environmentalism: The Limits of Philosophy and Science. Bloomington, Indiana University Press
Lewis C. S. (1967) Studies in Words, 2nd edn Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
Lindley R. (1986) Autonomy. Houndmills, Macmillan Education
Mathews F. (2005) Reinhabiting Reality: Towards a Recovery of Culture. Sydney, University of New South Wales Press
Mill J. S. (1969) Three Essays on Religion: Nature, The Utility of Religion, and Theism. Westmead, Gregg International Publishers
Norton, B. G. (1986), “Sand Dollar Psychology.” The Washington Post Magazine, June 1, pp 11–14.
Norton B. G. (1991) Toward Unity Among Environmentalists. New York, Oxford University Press
Peterken G. F. (1996) Natural Woodland: Ecology and Conservation in Northern Temperate Regions. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
Povilitis T. (2002) What is a Natural Area?. Natural Areas Journal 22:70–74
Price J. (1995) Looking for Nature at the Mall: A Field Guide to the Nature Company. In: Cronon W. (ed.) Uncommon Ground: Toward Reinventing Nature. New York, Norton W. W., pp. 186–203
Reed P. (1989) Man Apart: An Alternative to the Self-Realization Approach. Environmental Ethics 11:53–69
Ridder, B. (2005), “Reorienting Environmentalism to Nature-Inspired-Autonomy.” Griffith Journal of the Environment 1 http://www.gu.edu.au/faculty/ens/gje. Accessed July 1, 2006.
Ridder, B. (2007), “The Naturalness versus Wildness Debate: Ambiguity, Inconsistency, and Unattainable Objectivity.” Restoration Ecology 15, in press.
Roebuck P., Phifer P. (1999) The Persistence of Positivism in Conservation Biology. Conservation Biology 13:444–46
Rolston H. (1991) The Wilderness Idea Reaffirmed. Environmental Professional 13:370–377
Rolston H. (1994) Conserving Natural Value. New York, Columbia University Press
Rolston H. (2001) Natural and Unnatural: Wild and Cultural. Western North American Naturalist 61:267–276
Rozin P., Spranca M., Krieger Z., Neuhaus R., Surillo D., Swerdlin A., Wood K. (2004) Natural Preference: Instrumental and Ideational/ Moral Motivation, and the Contrast Between Foods and Medicines. Appetite 43:147–154
Sagoff M. (1997) Muddle or Muddle Through? Takings Jurisprudence Meets the Endangered Species Act. William and Mary Law Review 38:825–993
Sagoff M. (2000) Ecosystem Design in Historical and Philosophical Context. In: Pimentel D., Westra L., Noss R. F. (eds.) Ecological Integrity: Integrating Environment, Conservation, and Health. Washington, DC, Island Press, pp. 61–78
Sessions G. (1992) Ecocentrism, Wilderness, and Global Protection. In: Oelschlaeger M. (ed.) The Wilderness Condition: Essays on Environment and Civilization. Washington, DC, Island Press, pp. 90–130
Siipi H. (2004) Naturalness in Biological Conservation. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 17:457–477
Simonsen K. H. (1981) The Value of Wildness. Environmental Ethics 3:259–263
Simpson, J. A. and E. S. C. Weiner (eds.) (1989), Oxford English Dictionary, Volume 10, 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Soper K. (1995) What is Nature? Culture, Politics and the Non-Human. Oxford, Blackwell
Soulé M. E. (1985) What is conservation biology?. Bioscience 35:727–734
Stephens P. H. G. (2000) Nature, Purity, Ontology. Environmental Values 9:267–294
Stephens P. H. G. (2004) Nature and Human Liberty. Organization & Environment 17:76–98
Stockwell C. A., Hendry A. P., Kinnison M. T. (2003) Contemporary Evolution Meets Conservation Biology. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 18:94–101
Takacs D. (1996) The Idea of Biodiversity: Philosophies of Paradise. Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins University Press
Taylor B. (1999) Green Apocalypticism: Understanding Disaster in the Radical Environmental Worldview. Society & Natural Resources 12:377–386
Turner J. (1996) The Abstract Wild. Tucson, The University of Arizona Press
Turner J. (2001) The Wild and its New Enemies. In: Kerasote T. (ed.) Return of the Wild: The Future of Our National Lands. Washington, DC, Island Press, pp. 119–35
Tybirk K., Alrøe H. F., Frederiksen P. (2004) Nature Quality in Organic Farming: A Conceptual Analysis of Considerations and Criteria in a European Context. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 17:249–274
Verhoog H., Matze M., Van Beuren E. L., Baars T. (2003) The Role of the Concept of the Natural (Naturalness) in Organic Farming. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 16:29–49
Wallington T. J., Moore S. A. (2005) Ecology, Values, and Objectivity: Advancing the Debate. BioScience 55:873–878
Weston A. (1992) Toward Better Problems: New Perspectives on Abortion, Animal Rights, the Environment, and Justice. Philadelphia, Temple University Press
Woodward C. (2002) In Ruins. London, Vintage
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ridder, B. An Exploration of the Value of Naturalness and Wild Nature. J Agric Environ Ethics 20, 195–213 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-006-9025-6
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-006-9025-6