Narrative Environmental Ethics, Nature Writing, and Ecological Science as Tradition： Towards a Sponsoring Ground of Concern.pdfVIP

PhilosophyStudy,ISSN 2159-5313 November2012，Vo1．2，No．11，822-834 NarrativeEnvironmentalEthics，NatureWriting，andEcological ‘ 广一 一 · 广一 1 一 ’ clenceas1ragltlon：10WarClsabponsorlng GroundofConcern JohnCharlesRyan EdithCowanUniversity Overthelast30years．environmentalphilosophersandecologicalresearchershaveturnedtheirattentiontothe possibilitiesofnarratives：thestoriespeopletellabouttheirlivesinconjunctionwiththehumanandnon-human agents htey livewith．An interest in narrative environmentalethicsreflects a re—evaluation ofcanonical ecophilosophicaltexts．WorkssuchasPaul Taylor’sRespectforNaturesuggestanessentialistview of environmentalethicsinwhichpredeterminedprinciplesareimposedonplacesandsituations．Ontheotherhand， AldoLeopold’sASandCoun~Almanaccombinesfirst-personprosewithscience-basedexplanationsofthe“biotic pyramid”towardsthedevelopmentofalandethic．Examples，suchasLeopold’s，ofnarrativeethicsarethoughtto offerrelational，place-based，non·authoritative，nadnon—anthropocentricmodels．Thisarticleexaminesthreecritical componentsofenvironmentalnarratives：selCcontext，nadtradition．Inorderforenvironmentalnarrativesto advnaceecologicalethics，theymustbeaccompaniedbythetraditionofnaturalscience(geology,ecology,and evolution)toprovidethe s‘‘ponsoringground”ofrethicalconcern andaction．Theroleofnaturalscienceasa tradition-- andindeedoneofmany— innarrativeethicsprovidesthebasisofrecologicalselfhoodinthecontextof place．TheseassertionswillbesupportedbyannaalysisoftheenvironmentalnarrativesofKarenWarrenna dJim Cheney．However,inthetemporallyexpansiveandecologicallyconsciouspoeticnarrativesofJohnKinsellawe findanenvi