Post by Travis on Dec 21, 2022 16:03:57 GMT -8
Wilderness and the American Mind*
by Roderick Frazier Nash
Is the wilderness friend or foe, the resort of evil or inspiration, the scene of peace or source of havoc, a resource to be conserved for future use or place to be preserved for its own sake? There is hardly a limit to the dichotomy of attitudes regarding what is "wild."
In this classic review and history of what wilderness has meant to people and civilizations, Dr. Nash considers the etymology implying wild animals, reviews the approach of various religions, the transitions of attitudes among societies, the efforts to preserve what is "natural" and so many other ideas. Not even the notion of "loving an area to death" is really new.
If you are a puritan at Plymouth Rock, the wilderness may be a source of fear and evil. If a pioneer settling the wild West, it may be the raw material to be conquered and civilized. If a resident of a big city in modern times, it may be the get-away for peace and rest. And if you are a backpacker hiking into a wilderness today, it may be the site of toilet-paper bombs and overuse.
After reading this book, I am impressed by a couple things: First, there are few attitudes toward wilderness that are brand new. While each of us may have our own reasons for resorting to the backcountry, we can often find similar attitudes far back into our nations' histories or even world history.
Secondly, the effort to preserve wilderness has a long history of struggles by names few of us will ever remember, and the battle is never really won. There will always be those who view wilderness as a waste that impedes resource extraction. And there will be those who reap enormous profit from its commercialization, yet would build resort cities in our most cherished wild places, if they could.
And there will be those of us in an over-populated, over-consuming world that must love an area most by not going there when it's overcrowded.
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*Nash, R.F. (2014) Wilderness and the American mind. 5th edn. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.
by Roderick Frazier Nash
Is the wilderness friend or foe, the resort of evil or inspiration, the scene of peace or source of havoc, a resource to be conserved for future use or place to be preserved for its own sake? There is hardly a limit to the dichotomy of attitudes regarding what is "wild."
In this classic review and history of what wilderness has meant to people and civilizations, Dr. Nash considers the etymology implying wild animals, reviews the approach of various religions, the transitions of attitudes among societies, the efforts to preserve what is "natural" and so many other ideas. Not even the notion of "loving an area to death" is really new.
If you are a puritan at Plymouth Rock, the wilderness may be a source of fear and evil. If a pioneer settling the wild West, it may be the raw material to be conquered and civilized. If a resident of a big city in modern times, it may be the get-away for peace and rest. And if you are a backpacker hiking into a wilderness today, it may be the site of toilet-paper bombs and overuse.
After reading this book, I am impressed by a couple things: First, there are few attitudes toward wilderness that are brand new. While each of us may have our own reasons for resorting to the backcountry, we can often find similar attitudes far back into our nations' histories or even world history.
Secondly, the effort to preserve wilderness has a long history of struggles by names few of us will ever remember, and the battle is never really won. There will always be those who view wilderness as a waste that impedes resource extraction. And there will be those who reap enormous profit from its commercialization, yet would build resort cities in our most cherished wild places, if they could.
And there will be those of us in an over-populated, over-consuming world that must love an area most by not going there when it's overcrowded.
The book is not new. It was first copyrighted in 1967 (yet updated thru 2014). And it is not short at nearly 400 pages of text. But the shear depth of perception in those pages is, I found, well worth the time of reading them.
*Nash, R.F. (2014) Wilderness and the American mind. 5th edn. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.
