ipl-logo

Ethics Lab-John Muir: Understanding His Legacy

1584 Words7 Pages

Ethics Lab - John Muir: Understanding his legacy.

Please answer the following questions:

1. When and where did Muir's first wilderness "epiphany" occur? What brought this on? (see Muir and the Calypso Orchid) Muir’s first wilderness epiphany happened when he saw a lone Calypso Borealis flower on the Canadian shores of the Lake Huron and Ontario in an isolated area which Muir trekked out to. For Muir the epiphany wasn’t due to fatigue, anxiety, or a bout of meaningless emotion, but a full-fledged religious experience because it helped him reaffirm his unity with the universe. 2. What is "panentheism"? How does this differ from "pantheism"? Why are these terms relevant to Muir's life? Panentheism is a philosophy that a single God pervades and interpenetrates all of the universe. Basically that God is the soul of creation which extends beyond all time and space. Panentheism differs from pantheism because pantheism argues that all things, whether living or non-living are a part of an all-encompassing deity. …show more content…

John Muir is credited with advancing and making a more nuanced philosophy more accessible, and this understanding is that nature is an organism which deserves our empathy. This understanding of nature is clearly opposed to modernism, and is similar to the early criticisms to modernism. Muir regarded civilization as something to be tolerated, and this is affirmed in a line he wrote which was “Going to the woods is going home; for I suppose we came from the woods originally.” This writing reflected his thought that people could only know themselves if they knew their relation to nature. In my opinion Muir saw nature as more valuable or astounding than

Show More
Related

John Muir's Ethical Dilemmas

336 Words | 2 Pages

John Muir, a naturalist and preservation pioneer of nature took an ethical stand for land ethics when he shared his thoughts that all living things are equally important parts of the land, and animals and plants have as much right to live and survive as people do. In the 1600’s when Europeans began to settle in North America, there were 1037 million acres of forestland. Today, a little over 700 million acres in the United States is forestland—only thanks to preservation laws. In the 1800’s, that number of tress and forests decreased tremendously because expansion and progression recklessly exploited natural resources by clear-cutting forest to use wood for fuel and building supplies.

Read More

John Muir Vs Pinchot

394 Words | 2 Pages

John Muir was naturalist, author, philosopher, and a great advocate for preservation in which he took interest in since he was very young. Later in his life, he wrote many letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature which were read by millions. His most powerful quote consisted of few words, “Climb the mountain and get their good tidings, Nature’s peace will flow into you as the sunshine into the trees Although both Gifford Pinchot and John Muir sought the need of nature in humanity, their views greatly differed. Pinchot saw conservation as a means of managing the nation’s natural resources for long-term sustainable commercial use. On the other hand, Muir sided more with preserving the land than conserving (Muir, John).

Read More

How Did Muir And Abbey Appreciate The Beauty Of Human Nature?

414 Words | 2 Pages

“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread.” (Abbey) These words, written by Edward Abbey in 1982, resonate the ideas proposed by John Muir nearly a century prior. While both Muir and Abbey both appreciate the natural beauty found in the American Southwest, only Abbey recognized the threat of human intervention on the preservation of the natural beauty of these wilderness areas. In Explorations in the Great Tuolumne Cañon, Muir describes the area that would later become Yosemite National Park in great loving detail.

Read More

California O Shaughnessy Dam Analysis

1428 Words | 6 Pages

On the other hand, many preservationists did not share the same conclusions as Mr. Pinchot or Mr. Phelan. John Muir, often described as the one of the front-runners of helping to establish the creation of national parks in the United States, was one of those individuals. To Muir, any human alteration to the valley would be only the first step in many in extinguishing America’s entire wilderness. Muir even described the sacredness of the Hetch Hetchy Valley in his excerpt titled the Hetch Hetchy Valley, “Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well dam for water-tanks the people 's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man” (Muir, 1908).

Read More

Comparing Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn And Minister's Black Veil

638 Words | 3 Pages

In Mark Twain’s novel The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, Emerson’s essay Nature, and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, Minister’s Black Veil, nature causes skepticism within society. These texts show that skepticism contradicts the presence of nature. Society in these texts feel as if nature is pulling them one one rather than another. Mark Twain shows this concept through essence of natural law. Emerson believes that the views of nature and the beauty of nature can only be understood by a man when he is in solitude.

Read More

Wilderness Letter By Wallace Steegner Summary

797 Words | 4 Pages

But the older I get, the more reading I do, the more that I experience, I realize that nature is not solely a utensil for our own use and advancement as a species. Wallace Stegner’s “Wilderness Letter”, written to the outdoor Recreation and Resources Review Commission, outlines his views of the natural world and of wild places. He states that nature is valuable because it helped to shape us into what we are today. In reading Stegner’s letter I found that I agreed with a great deal of his ideologies. He

Read More

Comparing John Muir And Henry David Thoreau

161 Words | 1 Pages

John Muir and Henry David Thoreau both had a passion for nature and could see the natural life’s true beauty. Having a heavy impact on the creation of America’s national parks, John Muir was able to write multiple books on his profound experiences at these beautiful landscapes. According to an article written by PBS, John Muir “felt a spiritual connection to nature; he believed that mankind is just one part of an interconnected natural world …” ("John Muir (1838–1914)"). Similarly, Thoreau believed the connectivity of the people and nature existed and that nature was a way of life people should live by.

Read More

Windstorm Forest Muir

898 Words | 4 Pages

While reading this story, I found myself daydreaming about being in a forest during a windstorm. It would be very breathtaking to someday go into the wilderness and experience something like John Muir experienced. Some may think that it is a very intense reading, but to me, it was such a relaxing story. I learned an important thing from this reading; I found out that even though the author's purpose was to entertain his audience, he proved that what may seem like a storm to someone, one can always find the bright side to everything. He was in the forest during a fierce storm, and instead of being worried about how he was going to get out of there, he chose to stay and look at the bright side.

Read More

Wild Apples Thoreau Analysis

923 Words | 4 Pages

Thoreau argued that “apple emulates man's independence and enterprise,” meaning that nature was what gave people individuality and self identity (Wild Apples 1). This proved that humans needed to go back to nature because it was the only way to withstand the corrupted thoughts of society. He stated that “even the sourest and crabbedest apple, growing in the most unfavorable position, suggests such thoughts as these, it is so noble a fruit,” displaying how nature can cure anything and even those who have been corrupted by society. Thoreau

Read More

Walking By Henry David Thoreau Essay

498 Words | 2 Pages

Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Walking” is an amazing analysis of the relationship between man and nature, trying to find a balance between society and what we as primitive animals hold as rules of life. The essay exemplifies Thoreau’s personal feelings about nature with what he believes to be the nature of mankind as well as the nature of himself as an individual. Albeit with beautiful writing and some of the best imagery ever put onto paper, Thoreau’s essay is not without its flaws. In Thoreau’s essay, it is said that "In my afternoon walk I would fain forget all my morning occupations and my obligations to society". Thoreau off the bat states own personal feeliabouts about nature and the woods as a way to build an argument around the benefits nature and evening strolls have for the soul.

Read More

Death & Life Of Great American Cities By Jane Jacobs

302 Words | 2 Pages

From the book of ‘The Death & Life of Great American Cities’ by Jane Jacobs, the social culture making changes in the city life, causing the problem in traffic and safety issues to the traditional neighborhoods. Her point of views in principles of urban planning is quite useful to be considerate on designing the connection between the users. However, the principle were depending on the development of a country with varies of culture involved especially for Malaysia. A well planning of urban context would lead to high population and migration to habilitate into the city. From my point of views, Penang is quite a good example of urban planning in applying the principles mentioned by Mrs. Jacobs.

Read More

Passion For Nature John Muir

1810 Words | 8 Pages

In A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir, Donald Worster tells the tale of a legendary man beloved by many, now revered as the epitome of the conservation movement: John Muir. Although many stories about Muir have been told before, none have captured his true essence or presented such a comprehensive narrative of Muir’s extraordinary, yet complex life. Worster’s account immerses Muir amidst the political, social, economic, and historical changes that defined that time period. Worster believes that Muir, through his complexity and proximity, personified the American liberal democratic ideals of the time, thereby becoming the figurehead for the environmental movement.

Read More

Walking Thoreau Rhetorical Analysis

684 Words | 3 Pages

When Thoreau mentions that many philosopher import the woods to themselves, it must be for a reason. The woods and nature are needed in life, or human life may perish without

Read More

Summary Of Adam's Peace By John Muir

1541 Words | 7 Pages

John Muir deeply lived in the solitude of now, and integrated a sense of belonging within Yosemite when he wrote, “We are now in the mountains and they are in us” (Muir, p. 72). Muir describes in detail the joyous Yosemite, the mountains, valleys, forests, Yosemite Creek with falling waters, creatures and plants, in which, erupted in his first summer as the very breath of his life, that soaked the exquisite sightings into his skin and rooted themselves into his bones. Muir delineated the vast beauty of the landscape and the simple face of a daisy declaring a himself a servant in a “holy wilderness," a wilderness that mirrored the reflection of the Creator. Muir weaves his childhood memorized scripture into the wondrousYosemite’s

Read More

The Calypso Borealis 'And' I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud

689 Words | 3 Pages

Once the piece of literature begins, the reader begins feeling captivated in the imagery that the author created to be envisioned. In John Muir’s extraordinary essay, The Calypso Borealis, he creates a vivid picture in the reader’s head of his experience to find a beautiful flower. In particular, he creates an image of his adventure into a swamp surrounding The Great Lakes through his writing. When his journey began, he was introduced to several diverse flora. During his journey, he is able to admire and soak up nature’s beauty as well as

Read More

More about Ethics Lab-John Muir: Understanding His Legacy

Related Topics

Open Document