"Does Nature Have Moral Value?"

A couple of nights ago the Memphis sky was incredible at sunset. The natural human reaction was to remark on its beauty--the aesthetic value of the pinks, oranges, and bright whites of the incredible sunset were gorgeous; and, to some students and Memphians, even worthy of Instagram. This occurrence is a prime example of humans attempting to mold natural phenomena into something that they are capable of understanding on a personal level. And, as King mentions in "How to Construe Nature," the aesthetic value of nature was particularly highlighted in the Romantic and Picturesque art movements. 

However, Nature is deeper than any commodity. People defend nature because it does have value, therefore defending it against exploitation. But as defining nature as something having aesthetic value, we are stripping it of its moral value. Therefore, how do we give nature meaning, and how do we define it? King says, "The moral status of Nature is determined by the contexts within which non-human entities are incorporated into human cultural understanding"(352). As humans we desperately try to understand overwhelming, powerful entities such as Nature by examining our relationship with said entity. Although Nature is a non-human entity like King suggests, it is essential to the human method of processing power on such a large scale to be able to think of nature in human terms.

Humans understand social and economical value. People are willing to pay steep prices in order to spend a leisure filled weekend in the comforting arms of nature. It has become a commodity. An ethical relationship has yet to be formed. A weekend away may be seen as an opportunity to become better acquainted with nature's majesty, however, it often becomes "a passive appreciation of the spectacle, which one buys" (356).  Nature has become a social phenomenon, and appreciating nature has become a fad of sorts. This example accentuates the fact that nature is something that surpasses human understanding.

As humans we are earthly beings and unable to comprehend fully the meaning and role of nature, and therefore must identify it by how we associate with it and how it affects us. However, nature is non-human and cannot have human attributes--including human moral value. We can project spiritual meaning onto nature as an attempt to file it into our minds as a religious substitute, but what if it can't have human attributes? How can you put value on something that you're so disconnected from? We can define what it means to be human, but nature seems so different.  Ultimately, we are need to successfully define our relationship with nature before we can attempt to preserve it...or promote our personal connections with nature on Instagram.