


































AQUINO VOLUME3 ISSUE 3 JUNE 2023


Abstract

Environmental degradation is considered by many to be one of the major challenges 
facing humanity in modern times. The environment is being severely and seriously 
undermined by human activities. Industrialization and its products irretrievably affect 
the land surface, the seas, and the atmosphere of our planetary environment. These 
undesirable effects on the environment imprint ugliness on the world and limit people's 
opportunities for pleasurable environmental aesthetic experiences. As one of the 
branches of aesthetics, environmental aesthetics determines the factors that shape our 
understanding and the creation of the natural and built environment. It examines among 
other things appreciation of nature as a powerful foundation for positive and affirmative 
action on environmental issues. Through the framework of the cognitive account of the 
aesthetic appreciation of nature in contemporary environmental aesthetics which 
maintains that aesthetic education concerning nature should incorporate the 
contributions made by scientists and naturalists so that our attitude towards nature will 
develop with ecological sensitivity. This is predicated on the ceteris paribus condition 
that a good aesthetic education and right aesthetic attitude is instrumental in the 
preservation and protection of our natural and human-made environments in Nigeria. It 
bemoans the negative consequences and effects of environmental   degradation and 
discusses the positive effects that might follow from taking natural beauty seriously. 

Keywords: Environmental Aesthetics, Aesthetic Appreciation, Aesthetic Cognitivism, 
Aesthetics Attitude, Environmental Degradation. 

Introduction 
The City of Port Harcourt, the Capital of Rivers State, Nigeria, popularly known as the 
Garden City because of its green and open spaces with nicely patterned houses built in 
well-planned layouts has now been described as a dirty and dark city because it has been 
engulfed in recent time with dark, hazy and hazardous soot, coupled with dirty 
environment caused by lack of proper attitude towards disposal of solid waste. In recent 
time, this hydra-headed monster called black soot has become the major concern of all, as 
residents of the state have publicly decried the dangers of such environmental 
degradation that is likely to cut short the life expectancy of the people in the city. Concern 
citizens have taken to the social media to raise alarm about the possible danger of this 
problem. Canon, a concern resident and an environmentalist describe this worrisome 

30

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF AESTHETIC EDUCATION 
ON ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN NIGERIA

AMADI, CORNELIUS CHUKWUDI, PH.D
DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

RIVERS STATE UNIVERSITY, PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIA
                 &

VERABA, DAVID DINEBARI, PH.D
DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

RIVERS STATE UNIVERSITY, PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIA



situation in This Day thus: You're wiping your face with a handkerchief and everything is 
black. You're trying to clean your car and everything is black. Or you look at the soles of 

th
your feet and it is just pitch black. (January, 20 , 2022).

His words summarized the severity and magnitude of the threat that the situation poses to 
public health and livelihood for men and animals, like every other air pollutant. Experts 
maintain that 

The 
cause of the soot has been attributed to numerous factors. Some residents and activists 
attribute it to the flaring of petroleum products and burning of tires and illegal refineries 
that are operational in the city. Others believes that the illegal oil activities undertaken by 
bunkers and vandals are chiefly responsible for the dilemma the city is faced with. Some 
other concerned citizens are of the opinion that the soot is as a result of abattoirs burning 
tyres, heating of asphalt and also the burning of stolen petroleum products by security 
agencies. The blame trade has left no one in exception. Some blamed kpo-fires — illegal 
refineries in Rivers State and much of the oil-rich Niger Delta. Others have blamed 
everything else under the sun. It is no longer a joke and like the slogan of one of the giant 
telecom communication in the country, MTN, the soot is visible 'everywhere you'. 

If you take a clean tissue and clean your nostrils, you would see the blackness that has 
mixed with the natural mucor. 

Beside the air pollution caused majorly by the recent black soot, Port Harcourt city which 
as described above used to be a city adorned with fine gardens has become a dirty city; a 
city as would be described by environmental aestheticians as a city coloured everyday 
with  ugliness and unpleasant smiles. The streets of the city are littered with solid waste. 
The residents of the city dump their waste right in between the middle of the road, causing 
them to be flushed into the drainages thereby blocking the water ways. Some of the waste 
are scattered along the roadside by moving cars littering the surrounding which will 
eventually be flushed into the drainages. One of the major consequences of this ugly 
incident is that the residents suffer the problem of flash flood during the raining season 
because solid waste products are being flushed into the drainages causing untold 
suffering to the inhabitants of the city as they are forced out of their home by flood. In 
recent time, The Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA) has totally lost 
control of managing the waste disposal in the state as the city has being submerged with 
waste for days, weeks and even months (This Day, May 18, 2022). There is general lack of 
proper attitude towards disposal of solid waste and lack of government's political will 
according to about this problem has contributed to the city being 
described as a breeding site for diseases and air pollution (  In 
fact there is this lack of proper environmental concern by the residents due to lack of 
proper environmental and aesthetic education.  Apart from the fact that the city has lost it 
aesthetic glory, it has equally become a pitiful cynosure of environmental pollution and 
general environmental degradation.
This worrisome situation is not peculiar to Rivers state alone, as Nigeria, especially the 

black soot is associated with series of diseases like asthma, bronchitis, 
coronary heart disease and some other respiratory illnesses. The toxicity of the black soot 
sometimes causes cancer which may lead to premature death (Ukpere & Igwe 67). 

Homes 
are no longer safe because the soot filters in through unlocked doors and opened surfaces. 

Ayotamuno and Akuro 
Ayotamuno and Akuro 389).

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Niger Delta states of the federation are equally battling with the issue of air pollution and 
environmental degradation in general as a result of the activities of the multi-nationals 
due to the exploration of crude oil. In the Niger Delta region of the country, the effects of 
environmental degradations are visible in all nooks and crannies of the regions. These 
ugly situation ranges from oil spillage, gas flaring, deforestation, destruction of wide and 
aquatic lives and air pollution to mention but a few.   The social and economic impacts of 
oil industries in these regions has brought great frustration and anger to their lives as it has 
brought great conflict between the government, the host communities and multi-nationals 
(Nwangbu Xiii). The major effect of this problem is environmental degradation and other 
environmental hazards which have led to the change in the ecosystem (Amadi, “

The general orientation about the problem of black soot, lack of proper disposal of waste 
and general environmental degradation in the Garden City, the Niger Delta and the 
country as a whole, is that it imprints ugliness in the city and 

The 
consequences of Man's Abuse and Misuse of Scientific and Technological Feat”, 89) 

In times such as ours, when suffering and trauma 
abound, when violence and violation continue 
(their scale and reach enabled by modern 
technologies), when species are increasingly 
becoming extinct, and when ecosystems are 
collapsing, philosophies are being addressed to 
engage in conversation and contemplate how we 
might globally contribute to a world in which our 
children, species, and environment can live well 
and thrive. (Heesoon Bai ).

One of the most encouraging signs in the widespread interest in environmental values is 
the recognition of the importance of the aesthetic. Scholars and researchers have tilted 
towards aesthetic experience and appreciation in the fight against environmental 
degradation. But the question is: how can aesthetics contribute to the fight against 
environmental degradation in Nigeria? Traditionally, aesthetics is mostly focused on art. 
It is generally concerned with arts and 

limit people's opportunities 
for pleasurable environmental aesthetic experiences. The question is: what is the 
significance of aesthetic education to the problem of environmental degradation? Can 
aesthetics as a branch of philosophy contribute to the recent call for environmental 
concern? As Heesoon Bai puts it:

other objects that are explicitly designed for human 
sensory enjoyment. However, aesthetic appreciation is not limited to art; it is frequently 
directed towards the world at large. This is the world that surrounds humans in their day-
to-day existence and thus constitutes the everyday environment. Therefore, as one of the 
many branches and approaches to aesthetics, environemtal aesthetics is concerned with 
enhancing cordial respect for the environment and for protection of the environment. 
Even though environmental aesthetics is a child of contemporary age, this field of study 
collaborates with other environmental study aimed at enhancing cordial respect for the 
environment and for protection of the environment. The aesthetic experience of this 
world is the subject matter of environmental aesthetics. This area of aesthetics focuses on 
philosophical questions concerning appreciation of the world at large and, moreover, that 
world as it is constituted not simply by particular objects but also by environments 

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AMADI & VERABA The Significance Of Aesthetic Education...           



themselves. Therefore, environmental aesthetics extends beyond the narrow confines of 
the art world and beyond the appreciation of works of art to the aesthetic appreciation of 
human-influenced and human-constructed as well as natural environments.

However, aesthetic appreciation is not limited to art; it is equally directed to our 
experience to our experience of the world at large: our everyday environment; he 
environment in which people work, play and live. Thus, the scope of aesthetics extends 
beyond the narrow confines of arts and other aesthetic objects that elicit aesthetic 
appreciation. According to Arnold 

  The 
importance of the aesthetic dimension of environment becomes increasingly compelling 
according to Yuriko Saito “as industrialization and its products irretrievably affect the 
land surfaces, the seas, and the atmosphere of our planetary environment.” Therefore, 
environmental aesthetics investigates the importance of aesthetic education to 
environmental concern. This essay argues that as an axiological discipline, the 
relationship between ethics and aesthetics is cordial. It therefore submits that a good 
knowledge of this relationship will encourage how we aesthetically appreciate our 
environments and how we should treat them. It went on to argue that when the right 
aesthetic interest and attitude is cultivated and the right aesthetic education and 
knowledge is inculcated, it will curtail the problem of environmental degradation in the 
world and Nigeria in particular. This essay uses the framework of the cognitive and non-
cognitive account of the aesthetic appreciation of nature in contemporary environmental 
aesthetics to make a case for environmental aesthetics as a way forward for the problem of 
environmental concern in Nigeria and the world at large.   

Environmental Aesthetics and the Call for Environmental Protection
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy that is primarily concerned with the way human 
beings experience and perceives the world through their senses. This philosophical 
enquiry is geared towards a good understanding of the arts and beauty. Traditional 
aesthetics has from inception being concerned with fine arts. These arts have equally 
contributed significantly in shaping this field. Central to the claims of traditional 
aesthetics is the fact that art is sufficient and autonomous and that it does not require any 
justification for its existence. The proponents of this theory is of the opinion that fine arts 
requires a special mode of attention called disinterested contemplation; and that the art 
object must be removed from any cultural, social and economic context and that it must be 
perceived for what it is. These claims are well suited for arts like painting, sculpture, 
music, theater, dance, and literature. These arts are littered everywhere in our museums, 
theaters, concert halls, and libraries. These places provide special locations for their 
appreciation and enjoyment. Thus, aesthetics and the arts complement each other. While 
aesthetic theory guides our appreciation of the arts, the fine arts on the other hand 
exemplify the precepts of aesthetics.

Berleant (2003) the scope of aesthetics has widened to 
embrace “ethical, social, religions, environmental and cultural concern… Varied 
traditions have joined with its historically interdisciplinary character, making aesthetics a 
focal centre of diverse and multiple interests”. Zettl collaborates this assertion with his 
position that aesthetics has gone beyond traditional philosophical concept to being the 
understanding and appreciation of beauty and our ability to judge beauty with 

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consistency. He further maintains that in media aesthetics “art and life are mutually 
dependent on each other and essentially interconnected” (Zettl 2).

In recent time, scholars have expressed interest in the importance of aesthetics to 
environmental values. As Arnold Berleant observed, “aesthetic values are a large part of 
what draws people to environmental activities and issues.” (Berleant, What is 
Environmental Aesthetics? 1)

Just as 
humans are not distinct from nature nor especially favored by nature as some 
environmental scholars argued, aesthetic values are embedded in natural conditions.  Our 
experiences and interactions with the natural world are suffused with aesthetic values, 
from the greening of the grass to the ever-changing cloud formations in the sky.  We find 
delight and renewal in these simple perceptions. And it is well that we recognize these 
aesthetic values. However, the challenge is that the recognition of these aesthetic values 
in the natural environmental requires some special forms of consciousness and education 
as some persons are dangerously unaffected by these aesthetic values. 

environment to elicits the right pleasurable experiences. 
However, when the right experiences and values are not elicited, concerns are raised 
about the need for the environment to be protected and care for. Scholars and 
environmental activists have raised serious concern about the damage done to the natural 
environment in recent times. The activities of man have caused serious damage to the 
environment. Environmental crisis which range from air pollution, improper disposal of 
solid waste, soil pollution and the depletion of the ozone layer are major consequences of 
man's abuse and misuse of science and technology. The consequences of Man's 
Abuse and Misuse of Scientific and Technological Feat”, 89) Industrialization and its 
products irretrievably affect the land surface, the seas, and the atmosphere of our 
planetary environment. The earth cries out for help. This is beautifully demonstrated by 
Galindo Galindo et al thus:

Over the last thirty years or so, the escalated 
worsening of physical environments has reached 
an alarmed level that not only gave rise to a 
political-social outcry on the urge to legislations at 
identifying and managing public landscape 
resources …but also raised the public awareness 
about the value of aesthetic appreciation of one's 
environment, be it natural or human-constructed. 
(1)

 The aesthetic 
experience of this world constitutes the subject matter of environmental aesthetic. 
Environmental aesthetic focuses on philosophical questions bordering on the 
appreciation of the world at large, the world as it is constituted not by particular objects 
but also by environments themselves. Therefore, environmental aesthetics extends 
beyond the narrow confines of the art world and beyond the appreciation of works of art to 
the aesthetic appreciation of human-influenced and human-constructed as well as natural 
environments. 

environmental possesses 
 Aesthetic value is the value that an object, event, or state of 

affairs has. This can be an artwork or natural because of its 
capacity to elicit either positive or negative value when experienced aesthetically. 

The environment 
possesses values and most fundamentally aesthetic values, and this is why it is always our 
concern and interest for the 

(Amadi, “

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This public outcry has led to the call for the protection of the earth for obvious reasons. 
The 

Rio de Janeiro Brazil
reconcile economic development environment

This has even led some scholars to attribute ethical and moral value to the 
environment, arguing that the environment is a moral person with rights and 
responsibilities. Arnold Berleant argues that the reason why we exploit the earth and the 
natural environment is because we tend to separate and segregate the earth from 
ourselves. According to him:   

… we cannot wholly objectify nature. We cannot 
segregate nature or separate ourselves from 
environment.  We are, flesh and bone, the product of the 
environment with which we coexist.  Not only our 
activities but our thoughts and feelings are profoundly 
influenced by climate, topography, wind, and water 
conditions.  We are, in other words, inseparable from 
our environment. (Berleant, What is Environmental 
Aesthetics? 2)

Berleant argues that the only remedy for this attitude towards the environment is to see the 
environment as indistinguishable from us.   This is why we should speak of environment 
rather than "the" environment.  According to him, when we talk about "the" environment, 
we tend to treat it as something independent of us, as a separate place.  It is as if we could 
objectify environment, give it limits-- circumscribe it.  On the other hand, speaking 
simply of "environment" according to him recognizes that environment is indeterminate, 
that its extent varies with the situation.  Moreover and most importantly, "environment" is 
not "out there" but includes me as an active part. 

  
Just like everyone who has concern for the protection of the natural and manmade 
environment, and just like every other environmental activist whose major duty is to seek 
for the protection of the environment, it is our assertion that a good aesthetic education 
and right aesthetic attitude is instrumental in the preservation and protection of our 
natural and human-made environments in Nigeria and the world at large. The need to 
apply aesthetic theories to the environment arises from the fact that human actions have 
contributed to the destruction of the environment. Humans as an aesthetic being have 
exploited the environment. We exploit our environment because we think that the 
environment is separate from us. If the environment is part and parcel of us, there is need 
to protect it. 

The Significance of Aesthetic Education on Environmental Degradation in Nigeria
The standards of scientific thought and modern technology have come to dominate the 
lives of individuals. Pedagogical models have warned us against trying to pay too much 
attention to rationalism and emphasizing the development of the affective domain of the 
young mind. All the critical periods in the history of philosophy have warned about the 
dominance of reason over the senses. This is why Olga Denac evidently demonstrates the 
importance of artistic and aesthetic education thus: At the point when the child's or young 

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), by name 
Earth Summit, conference held at ,  between June 3-14, 1992), to 

 worldwide  with protection of the  was a 
case in point. 

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person's development of integrity becomes unbalanced, aesthetic education is seen as the 
“last resort” in the reestablishment of harmony among the individual areas of the child's 
personality. (1714-1719).

According to him, modern pedagogy teaches that each child should have the opportunity 
to develop his abilities to observe, experience, evaluate and create that which is beautiful. 
This can only be achieved if we offer children a healthy living environment and an active 
artistic and aesthetic education. Olga went on to recommend that the educational 
curriculum should be structured to accommodate the other domain of man's 
developmental stages to include the aesthetic. This is because according to her:  

Every child needs planned, aesthetic education in 
order to influence the experiencing, feeling and 
enjoying of beautiful things as a counterbalance to 
our currently rationalized world. Since the 
contemporary school strives for the development 
of professional knowledge and skills on the basis 
of intellectual actions, while (at the same time) 
neglecting other dimensions of the child's 
personality (emotions, feelings, etc.), it is one of 
the most important tasks of the education of 
children and young people to develop the ability to 
enjoy art and beauty, and in one's inner and outer 
life to act in accordance with a sense of proportion, 
harmony and beauty. (1714-1719)

Plato for instance regarded aesthetic education as an indispensable element for the 
upbringing or training of man in the ideal society even though he was quite antagonistic to 
mimetic arts. Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) equally observed that pedagogical goals 
could also be achieved through aesthetic education. He thus emphasizes the educational 
functions of the aesthetic in art which will eventually cultivate in him a genuine sense of 
humanity. Herbart recognizes the danger of rational unilaterality in education of the child. 
And he is of the opinion that harmony and balance in the child's personal integrity can be 
maintained through aesthetic culture. Thomas Read maintains that the fundamental 
mistake of all educational system lies in their constant focus on rationalism. He insists 
that the educational curriculum should be expanded to include the aesthetic so as to create 
a perfect harmony in the life of the individual (Gilbert & Kuhn, 1967).
The recognition of aesthetic qualities and appreciation of aesthetic experiences require 
the development of our aesthetic consciousness. This is because, even when these natural 
aesthetic experiences are littered all over us, experience has equally revealed that not all 
human beings are affected by this experience. Some persons are often and always 
unaffected by the way their environment feels even when the environment is suffused 
with aesthetic and artistic value. The environmental degradations we feel all around us 
today is as a result of lack of aesthetic consciousness and wrong aesthetic attitude. The 
question fundamental at this juncture is: why are we not affected by the way our 
environment looks? Arnold Berleant has a ready-made answer to this question: 

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Appreciation can be developed.  Some environmental 
values are so direct that it takes no more than noticing 
them to evoke appreciation, although such attention is 
not automatic and can be enhanced by focusing our 
attention.  It is easy to be environmentally blind and 
simply unaware of the quality of light or the temperature 
of the air.  We may fail to notice the décor of a room or 
the color of a person's eyes.  Having these pointed out 
can make us aware of environmental values that, of 
course, are everywhere and always present to a 
receptive sensibility. (Berleant, What is Environmental 
Aesthetics 4)  

To appreciate and experience aesthetic qualities, we have to develop, cultivate and 
nurture our aesthetic consciousness. This is because it takes only a conscious attitude and 
a correct disposition for the right aesthetic experience to be felt. The questions that call to 
mind at this juncture is: How can one develop the right aesthetic attitude towards nature or 
the natural environment? Or to join Yuriko Saito and ask: Is there a correct Aesthetic 
appreciation of nature? Scholars argue that just as some appreciations of art are 
aesthetically more appropriate than others, so there are more or less aesthetically proper 
interpretations of natural objects. Kendall Walton lists the following categories as the 
appropriate features for the appreciation of the work of art. These include: the condition of 
standard features, the condition of aesthetic pleasure, the condition of the artist's 
intention, the condition of societal recognition and the condition of generic origin (104-
105). According to him, works of art are interpreted based on these conditions and 
categories. While some scholars are of the view that all the conditions outlined above are 
appropriate for the aesthetic appreciation of natural objects, others claim that some 
conditions do not always apply to the environment and the natural objects. According to 
Allen Carlson, while other categories may apply to natural objects and to the 
environment, the conditions of the artist's intention and societal recognition are not 
inappropriate and inapplicable in the aesthetic appreciation of nature. The various 
traditions or categories for the aesthetic appreciation of nature include: the 
formalist/picturesque category, historical category, literary category and naturalist 
category or scientific category. Even while all these categories are outlined as the various 
aesthetic conditions for the appreciation of natural environment, some of these scholars 
who belong to this school of thought argue that the most appropriate aesthetic 
appreciation of nature is the one which incorporates our scientific knowledge concerning 
nature. This school of thought can be generally called aesthetic cognitivism. They claim 
that scientists and naturalists can best help develop in us an aesthetically appropriate 
attitude toward nature. Saito captures the general orientation of the cognitivist theory 
thus:

to appropriately appreciate [natural] objects or 
landscapes . . . aesthetically . . . it is necessary to 
perceive them in their correct categories. This 
requires knowing what they are and knowing 
something about them. In general, it requires the 

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knowledge given by the natural sciences. (90)

Cognitive approaches have the assumption that it is central to have information and 
knowledge about a topic matter or object in order to be able to appreciate it. One cognitive 
approach to the aesthetic appreciation of natural environments for example stresses 
natural history, biology and geology as central. Knowledge from these scientific 
disciplines is seen to be central in order to appropriately aesthetically appreciate a natural 
environment. According to Connie Svabo and Kathrine Ekelund, “cognitive approaches 
cluster around the conviction that information is central for appreciation.” (3) This school 
of thought argues that aesthetic education concerning nature should incorporate the 
contributions made by scientists and naturalists so that our attitude toward nature will 
develop with ecological sensitivity (Saito 35). Scholars who belong to this school of 
thought predicated their argument on the ground that philosophical aesthetics suggest that 
the aesthetic appreciation of a work of art necessarily involves various cognitive 
considerations regarding its origin, art history, artistic medium, and some-times the 
artist's intention, as well as discriminating sensibilities. Without these considerations, it 
will be improper to determine the proper aesthetic category to experience the artistic 
objects and without demarcating the proper categories, our aesthetic appreciation of the 
work of art will be inappropriate, either because it misses some of the work's aesthetically 
significant aspects or because it attributes to the work an improper expressive quality 
(Saito 36). This can also be a valid argument for our aesthetic appreciation of our 
environment and natural objects. Knowledge of the sciences enriches our understanding 
of aesthetic experience. Carlson argues that the reason why other categories like the 
historical, literary or the formal categories are inappropriate for the aesthetic appreciation 
is because of “its ecologically and environmentally undesirable consequences: it is not 
effective in justifying the preservation of nature, a pressing issue especially today when 
the destruction and abuse of nature are causing serious environmental problems.” (Saito 
41) Carlson argues that if we are to save the environment from possible destruction, then a 
formalist appreciation of nature should be avoided because the destruction of nature 
cannot be seen as an aesthetic loss from a formalist perspective. Considered from a 
formalist perspective, “a playground, a strip-mined landscape, or a factory, considered 
merely as colors, lines, and shapes, do not necessarily destroy the scenic beauty of the 
environment; moreover, at least in some cases they each can be shown to improve the 
sensuous surface of the environment. Thus, for Carlson, the aesthetic justification for 
preserving natural environment becomes inane when the aesthetic value of nature is 
considered in formalistic terms. The conflicts and contrast seen in the natural 
environment might be an aesthetic merits viewed from a formalist perspective. However, 
when it comes to appreciating an environment, overwhelming evidence indicates that we 
normally appreciate its unity of expression and consider contrasting or incongruous 
elements an aesthetic demerit. Most of the literature on our environ-mental perception 
and appreciation suggests that our appreciation of an environment, whether natural or 
man-made, is primarily directed toward its "character," "mood," "atmosphere," or 
"ambience."  
In contrast to the cognitivist perspective on the aesthetic appreciation of nature, the non-
cognitivist aesthetic appreciation of nature argues that “nature as an aesthetic object is not 

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AMADI & VERABA The Significance Of Aesthetic Education...           



as determinate as a work of art” and as such should incorporate a wider range of 
interpretations. The non-cognitivists do not give the same importance to information but 
also do not deny that information about an environment can contribute to appreciation, 
but they do not see information-based ways of relating as being the core of aesthetic 
appreciation. Instead these approaches give priority to for example emotion. A central 
non-cognitive approach is Arnold Berleant's aesthetics of engagement (Berleant 2004). 
This approach breaks with traditional models of aesthetic appreciation. It for example 
argues that phenomena such as disinterest and objectified and distant gazing are 
inadequate descriptors of aesthetic appreciation of nature and the natural environment. 
The advocates of non-cognitivist aesthetic appreciation of natural environment argue that 
humans are inseparable from the natural, built, and everyday environment that they 
inhabit. As such, the relationship between man, the environment and natural objects 
should be a reciprocal one; one that challenges according to Matthew Auer, “the subject 
(observer)—object (environment) dichotomy”. This perspective is closely linked with 
the moralist perspective of the aesthetic appreciation of artistic and aesthetic objects and 
natural environments. According to this perspective especially as concerns the aesthetic 
appreciation of nature, the environment has some moral worth, as such should be treated 
as one.   

Conclusion
There is a general concern for the protection of the earth from possible annihilation. 
Human activities have affected the normal and natural functioning of the earth. Thus, the 
earth cries out for more moral concern towards it. Environmental activists both from the 
wings of ethics and aesthetics have devoted much attention to the protection of the earth 
and have offered palpable solution to the preservation of the environment. This essay 
argues that the destruction of the environment and the consequent environmental 
degradations that follow is a result of lack of proper aesthetic education and 
consciousness and general lack of proper aesthetic appreciation. Developing our 
aesthetic sensibility toward nature, therefore, can contribute to our comprehension of 
nature's workings and our appreciation of their value. The researchers have argued that 
both cognitive and non-cognitive aesthetic appreciation of nature offer insights for 
environmental aesthetics in a climate-changed world. However, the cognitive perspective 
of the aesthetic appreciation of the environment is most likely to succeed because it 
incorporates the contributions made by scientists and naturalists and by so doing, 
enriches our knowledge of the environment and its protection. 

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                                            Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol 3 Issue 1, 2023
ISSN: 2786-9792

June 


