Monday, September 22, 2014

The Wilderness Idea

"But we continued to talk, concluding that if wilderness was a state of mind--a perceived rather than actual condition of the environment--why not write a history of the wilderness idea?"

-Roderick Nash thinking back to the autumn of 1960 in his Preface to the Third Edition

I saw a reference to this book in the latest Orion. I'm just at the beginning, very intrigued by the author's original inspiration.

12 comments:

  1. Wilderness: 'self-willed land'. There's such power when you go back to the roots of a word, and look at its fragments. Makes you rethink, relook.

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  2. Let me know what you think of it when you finish.

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  3. I'll try and remember to report back, Jen.

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  4. I have stood knee-deep in wilderness and been humbled by its magnitude...

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    1. Wonderful! I don't believe I've ever been anywhere truly wild, but I have visited some amazing landscapes.

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  5. I do think that geography and the mind can meld in such as way that it does not matter if you are physically in the wild...as to have been there you are always there in your mind. Lovely post.

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    1. The idea of wilderness. It seems to be an idea that has evolved over time. An interesting history to explore.

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  6. Is there any wild place left in this world nowadays?
    I agree that it can be an idea or a state of mind more than an actual geographical place. I'll add this book in my list. Thank you Denise :)

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    1. My understanding is that this book is based on the author's doctoral dissertation on the subject. There is quite a bit of data. I've been hopping around the book and digging deeper into sections that spark my interest.

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  7. our own minds are fully not explored--many areas uncultivated, seemingly uninhabited. our legacy as Americans was pioneering and conquering the wilderness,( few places left on the planet) turn now to the inner wilderness?

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    1. So interesting to look at the topic from this perspective. It makes me wonder if there are places in our minds that shouldn't be fully explored and simply allowed to remain wild.

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