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#Post#: 416--------------------------------------------------
Re: #12: The Idea of a Garden
By: ebartel2020 Date: March 4, 2019, 8:41 pm
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A question that I found myself thinking about after class
Friday, that relates directly to a question Rachel asking: What
is your definition of wilderness? I have come to the conclusion
that wilderness is a place in nature that humans had not
modified to make it a place they can go to, a no-mans. I also
think wilderness ties into the idea of an area being unsafe or
has animals that could potentially harm us.
Alice: I love your post! I think a point that really stood out
to me was when you wrote: "My interpretation is when nature is
defined by the absence of humans, humans can forget their
inherent position on the earth - as just another animal. This
changes how humans think of the world around them and their
relationship to it, and can change their decisions". This really
made me go a million different directions because I had never
thought of this in this light. It leads me to think about the
fact that we have changed this world so much and took over so
much to the fact that we have a word for a no-mans land and I
cannot help but ask myself the question of is this correct or
right, no other aminals have done what we have done. I think if
people had the view you said before, we would not be changing
our planet so much. Not sure if this will make sense to anyone
but I kinda just dumped my thoughts out! :)
#Post#: 417--------------------------------------------------
Re: #12: The Idea of a Garden
By: nanaafiaba Date: March 4, 2019, 8:50 pm
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I believe that the wilderness is largely cultural, similar to
Pollan's views. Wilderness is a term that we have come up with
ourselves. It is "a human construct imposed upon a much more
variable and precarious reality" (183). This simplification
occurs frequently in human history. We have humanized (i.e. made
simpler) complex topics so that our human brains can comprehend
it. I used to think that the wilderness was an area of nature
that was untouched by humans. However, what land has not been,
whether directly or indirectly, influenced by humans? One could
comprehensively argue that all of the environment has been
impacted in some way by human life. In this case, our perceived
understanding of the wilderness would have to change.
"'Wilderness' is not nearly as straightforward or dependable a
guide as we'd like to believe" (186). Unfortunately for us,
nature's multiplex and unpredictable behavior does not allow for
a concrete definition.
To answer Ahmed's question, I feel as if humans do need to draw
the distinction between them and nature and the wilderness. I
think that this separation is largely due to our guilt for the
environmental damage we have imposed on the world. We have
damaged "nature" so much that we feel the need to preserve some
spaces, which we name the wilderness so that at least we are not
at fault for the ruin of all of the environment.
My question: How has the American definition of the wilderness
evolved over the years? What is the difference in definitions
from the beginning of colonization to now?
#Post#: 418--------------------------------------------------
Re: #12: The Idea of a Garden
By: yzhu2020 Date: March 4, 2019, 8:50 pm
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When I think wilderness, I think of uninhabited lands with
untamed animals and plants growing everywhere. It isn't the most
aesthetic pleasing... Pollan's definition of wilderness is land
untouched by humans. He described the Cathedral Pines, which is
not considered wilderness, "are not, then, 'virgin growth'"
(394). I think his idea towards nature, though, stands in
between the environmental purists and putative interest of men.
He doesn't believe that all human interactions with nature will
end up with a negative outcome
Answer to Ahmed's question (Why does humans feel the need to
draw the distinction between them and nature in the form of
wilderness?):
Unlike nature in general, the wilderness is considered dangerous
and barbaric (uncivilized) because there are no people
inhabiting there. People nowadays, and in the past, all want to
be known as civilized persons, therefore they don't want other
people to connect them with the wilderness. In addition, "wild"
is sometimes has a depreciating connotation to it which
describes the person (or thing) uncontrollable - a much more
pleasing way to say uncivilized.
My question is: how did the connotation of wilderness become
what it is now?
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