Green fields, ugly ducklings and black swans
Aesthetic dimensions of ecological science
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19583271 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Samantha J Capon (0000-0002-1975-553X, Griffith University, corresponding author), Roland Bartel (0000-0002-6133-3146, Monash University), Robyn Bartel, Sandy C Boucher (0000-0002-0575-7497, University of New England), Sandy Boucher, Felicity Joseph (University of New England), Anthony Lynch (University of New England) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 1286-1295 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | People and Nature (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2575-8314 • E-ISSN: 2575-8314 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/pan3.70037 |
| OpenAlex | W4409833569 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 63 |
Despite its relative infancy, ecological science plays a pre‐eminent role in current environmental decision‐making globally and has, over recent decades, permeated a broad range of academic disciplines. Developments in two areas of philosophical thought in particular, environmental aesthetics and the aesthetics of science, beg an exploration of their intersection with respect to the role of aesthetics in ecological science. Here, we provide a contemporary synthesis of both environmental aesthetics and aesthetics of science to explore aesthetic dimensions of contemporary ecological science, highlighting three main areas of convergence: (1) the influence of aesthetic experiences and judgements of nature by ecologists on ecological science and our contemporary understanding of nature; (2) the development and role of ecological ‘taste’ among ecologists; and (3) moral, cultural and political implications of the ecological imagination as underpinned by current ecological science. We identify a risk for feedback mechanisms to perpetuate a relatively homogeneous ecological aesthetic as a result of reciprocal influences between ecological science and society which may further promote inadvertent policy advocacy and stifle scientific innovation. We suggest ecological science would benefit from increased aesthetic literacy and reflection by broadening the ecological imagination and intentionally facilitating more diverse and equitable science to inform policy outcomes. Our argument should be of interest to philosophers of science, ecologists and those that draw on their outputs. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog
Aesthetics · Art · Biology · Black swan theory · Epistemology · Geography · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Conservation, Ecology, Wildlife Education · Environmental Philosophy and Ethics · Philosophy · Ecology
Aesthetics of the Natural Environment
The shared landscape
Decoloniality and anti-oppressive practices for a more ethical ecology
Whose conservation?
The structure of scientific revolutions
Taste and the history of science
Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature and the Global Environmental Crisis
Some Conceptions of Time in Ecology
Environmental aesthetics
Theoretical ecology as etiological from the start
The beauty of sensory ecology
Gadamer and the Otherness of Nature
Rehabilitating the Aesthetics of Nature
Animal Beauty, Ethics, and Environmental Preservation
Nature and Positive Aesthetics
Epistemic Engagement, Aesthetic Value, and Scientific Practice
The water is not empty
Line of Wreckage
Marginalia
How do Aesthetics Affect our Ecology
Nonhuman Charisma
Philosophical Issues in Ecology
At the Limits
Ecology, Evolution, and Aesthetics
Imagination in science
Science and Beauty
What about the nematodes? Taxonomic partialities in the scope of UK biodiversity conservation
Beauty and Bacteria
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |