Natural Beauty and Distance from Nature: Notes on Ethics and Aesthetics

Abstract

The present article approaches the problem of natural beauty in relation to the spheres of ethics and aesthetics. We develop a theoretical-bibliographic study based on the immanent reading of Chapter 15 of Aesthetics: The Specificity of the Aesthetic by Georg Lukács, in which the division of labor is taken as basis to the development of individuals and society. This issue brings forth the question: Do natural experiences have an aesthetic character, that is, how is the relationship between natural beauty and artistic beauty established? In conclusion, the experiences between humanity and natural environment are indeed near the realm of pleasure; moreover, although they are not aesthetic in nature and do not become a guide of ethical behavior, they are important for the development of the private personality of the social being.