Periodicals>Journal Article: Cafaro, Philip , The Naturalist’s Virtues, Philosophy in the Contemporary World, Volume 8 Number 2 Fall-Winter 2001, Department of Philosophy, Colorado State Univ, Retrieved on 2011-06-10
Folksonomies: virtue naturalism naturalist Memes
10 JUN 2011
A Response to Leopold's Description
The passage shows how different aspects of
virtue connect. Patience is part intellectual virtue, part
moral virtue and part physical virtue, as it is portrayed
here. The humility which allows Leopold to lie down
in the muck unselfconsciously is a moral virtue, but
humble recognition of our own ignorance is also a key
intellectual virtue, as Socrates so often reminds us
(see also William Beebe’s description of the ideal
naturalist quoted earlier). Humility also makes
possible Leopold’s aesthet...
1 Cafaro sees a great deal of virtue in a naturalist's description of getting muddy to witness nature and appreciate it.
10 JUN 2011
Patience, Attentiveness, and Thoroughness are Naturalist ...
Each branch of natural history
study demands its special abilities: the superior ear of
the birdwatcher, the attention to minute detail of the
entomologist, the courage of the herpetologist wading
into swamps full of poisonous snakes. But some “field
skills” are nearly ubiquitous. Perhaps the most
important are patience, perseverance, thoroughness
and attentiveness. The birdwatcher searching for that
one rare gull on a pond among seven hundred
common ones may have to watch for hours in bitter... 1 
notes
notesWithout them the naturalist would miss the rarities in nature.
10 JUN 2011
Study nature to find your voice
Study nature to find your voice. One reason
the natural history genre thrives today is the
tremendous variety of voices it makes possible: the
wild exactness of Annie Dillard, the calm
thankfulness of Terry Tempest Williams, the scientific
precision of Bernd Heinrich. But again, this is not just
the province of professional writers or exceptional
talents. No matter how dry or literal an amateur
naturalist’s field notebook might be, sooner or later it
begins to fill up with descriptions of her... 1 notes
notesNatural History as a genre thrives because the variety of voices contributing to it.
10 JUN 2011
A Naturalist's Code
Of course, naturalists’ activities themselves
can go astray or fail to provide their full benefits.
Rachel Carson warned that “it is possible to compile
extensive lists of creatures seen and identified without
ever once having caught a breathtaking glimpse of the
wonder of life.”22 A concern to have the newest,
fanciest gear has taken many a birdwatcher away from
simplicity and frugality! As with hunting’s
“sportsman’s code,” a “naturalist’s code” might help
prevent these failures and pervers... 1 notes
notesWould include rules about being reasonable and not spending a lot of money on fancy equipment.
10 JUN 2011
Non-Anthropocentricm as a Virtue
Anthropocentrism isn’t just a faulty value
system, but also a faulty way of understanding the
world. Modern science has shown this, displacing
human beings from the center of the universe,
opening up immense vistas of space and time, telling
a story of life in which chance, not destiny, has raised
an unusual primate to dominance for a short time on
a tiny planet in one insignificant corner of the
universe. We know this, of course. But our daily
experience tends to contradict it, as we walk th...
1 Science displaced humans as the center of the Universe, and as a result, we can see reality more clearly.
10 JUN 2011
The Naturalist Virtue of Leaving Nature Untouched
Of course, we can combine natural history
study with gardening, hunting, owning pets, and other
pursuits that keep us close to the earth. The more such
activities, the better, in terms of a full, rich, characterbuilding
relationship to nature. But natural history
study provides training in another key environmental
virtue that the others do not: leaving things alone. The
sportsman’s code prohibits wasting meat from the
animals killed, the organic gardener’s ethics proscribe
unsustainable or w...Take only photographs, leave only footprints.
10 JUN 2011
Naturalism Improves Perception
Nature study also heightens our perceptive
abilities: we see, hear and smell more, and more
keenly, because of them. In the cities, our senses tend
to atrophy. The relentless commercial badgering of
signs, and the general dullness and ugliness of city
landscapes, push the urban walker into the safe
cocoon of his mind and further out of his senses.
Simply spending time out in pastoral or wild
landscapes counteracts this tendency. Spend a day in
the woods and you will begin to hear a bit more a...Being attentive to nature heightens our senses because of the enjoyment we get from listening, seeing, smelling, and feeling it.
