Plants

 Question

            Are plants that were planted in people’s backyard considered to be a part of nature capable of causing aesthetic appreciation even though it is not in its natural environment? 
    
             
          

              People bring plants into their homes or plant them in their backyard all the time. It reminds me of the Object Model, taking something from nature like a rock and putting it on display. The plants in people's backyard can be potted already then planted or they can plant the seeds. If the planter is planting the seeds in a certain order creating a form in which the flowers will grow, they can then be the creator of the arrangement because they had intentions to do this. For example, they intended the yellow flowers to be next to the purple flowers in a circle. The planter cannot be the creator of the flowers because they did not and could not biologically create the seed. The art of gardening is similar to Edible Arrangements. They do not make the fruit but they arrange it and cut it into pleasing shapes and forms. With gardening, nature is being manipulated but also cared for. The flowers are a part of nature just with human manipulation. People can still have aesthetic appreciation for the plants even though it is not in its natural environment. However, on these terms you may be able to appreciate the arrangement of the flowers as you would a piece of artwork. The fact that the planter is taking care of the plants shows appreciation. However, I cannot help but think that the aesthetic affect would be artificial or not as high as it would be seeing the flowers in their natural environment.  

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The Degree of Appreciation of Nature

       Question

              How does one measure the degree of appreciation of nature?

         

              

            Appreciation is not a substance that can be measured in liters or gallons. There is not a balance put into place where a person stands as their appreciation for nature is measured. Ultimately, you cannot legitimately measure the degree of appreciation. In addition, you cannot determine how much appreciation a person may have because everyone has different ways of showing appreciation. Some may appreciate and not show it. Maybe the degree of appreciation can be measured by how much knowledge one goes after about their appreciation. But we could not calculate all the knowledge this person has regarding their appreciation. Tests are not always accurate and half the time they are pointless like in this case. A test cannot prove how much information one has resting in their preconscious that didn’t surface onto the test. Furthermore, there would be no motivation for people to take such a test. Students take SATs to get into college and AP exams to earn college credit. Will the person who achieved a high score on this “test” receive an appreciation certificate? Even with that, it would hold little value. We can assume that if people are going after more knowledge about their appreciation then they have more appreciation since they are using their own time and effort to learn more than what is on the surface. This would be independent learning; researching, gathering data, doing experiments to know more about their appreciation and share it with other people. Another example is taking action when nature is in danger. Examples include, not littering, recycling, cleaning up trash, getting others involved and taking care of nature in general. Everyone has their own way of apprenticing nature. If we were to appreciate more, maybe this world would be a little better.