ENSn4440 The aesthetics of nature: between organism and environment

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2026
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 7 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Karel Stibral, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Karel Stibral, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Klára Dubinová
Supplier department: Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Tue 18:00–19:40 U41
Prerequisites
! HEN440 Aesthetic of Nature &&!NOW( HEN440 Aesthetic of Nature )&&TYP_STUDIA(N)
English.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 70 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 11/70, only registered: 1/70, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/70
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Abstract

The main objective of the course is to understand the changes in the aesthetic attitude towards nature as representative of the European attitude towards nature in general. At the end of this course, students should have a better understanding of the complexity of the contemporary human attitude towards nature, which leads, among other things, to its protection. Students will be able to interpret and critically evaluate our aesthetic attitude towards nature and the motives for its protection, and use the information they have acquired to argue in this area. They will be more aware of the differences between different time periods and geographical areas, and will be able to understand the basics of the scientific interpretation of the aesthetic appreciation of nature. 



Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the subject, students will be able to identify and summarize the important features of the main periods of the history of aesthetic attitudes to nature in European culture; to characterize and describe current trends; to analyze certain factors leading to the current attitudes towards nature, including its protection; and to write an analytical paper on contemporary environmental aesthetics.
Key topics

1. Introduction 

Part I: The cultural and historical dimension of aesthetic appreciation of nature, especially landscape

2. Antiquity, the Middle Ages 

3. From the Renaissance to the 18th century

4. From the 18th century to the present

5. The Far East and aesthetic appreciation of nature

Part II: Biological concepts of the beauty of nature

6. Darwin, Darwinism, and the beauty of organisms

7. Neo-Darwinism and the beauty of organisms

8. Evolutionary theory of aesthetic appreciation of landscape

9. Alternatives in biology and forestry – Haeckel, Portmann, H. von Salisch, and forestry aesthetics

Part III: Aesthetics of nature and environmental aesthetics

10. Aesthetics of nature 1. - concepts of beauty, sublime, picturesque, taste, and aesthetic appreciation of nature

11. Aesthetics of nature 2.

12. Environmental aesthetics 1. (criticism of the concept of landscape, cognitive and non-cognitive branches)

13. Environmental aesthetics 2. (overlaps with nature conservation and environmentalism, contemporary art)



Study resources and literature
    recommended literature
  • ROUSSEAU, Jean-Jacques. Vyznání. Translated by Luděk Kult. Vydání třetí, v Odeonu p. Praha: Odeon, 1978, 544 stran. info
  • ROUSSEAU, Jean-Jacques. Sny samotářského chodce. Praha: K+D Svoboda, 2002, 167 s. ISBN 80-903140-0-7. info
  • CARLSON, Allen. Aesthetics and the environment :the appreciation of nature, art and architecture. 1st pub. London: Routledge, 2000, xxi, 247 s. ISBN 0-415-20683-9. info
  • BURKE, Edmund. O vkuse vznešenom a krásnom : filozofické skúmanie o pôvode našich ideí vznešeného a krásneho. Translated by Mária Wiegelová-Molnárová. Vyd. 2. V Bratislave: Tatran, 1981, 165 s. info
  • SHAFTESBURY, Anthony Ashley Cooper. Characteristics of men, manners, opinions, times. Edited by Lawrence E. Klein. 1st publ. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999, xxxvii, 49. ISBN 0-521-57022-0. info
  • ROUSSEAU, Jean-Jacques. Rozpravy. Edited by Vladimír Čechák, Translated by Eva Blažková - Jindřich Veselý -. 2. rozš. vyd. Praha: Svoboda, 1989, 292 s. ISBN 8020500642. info
  • STIBRAL, Karel. Proč je příroda krásná? Estetické vnímání přírody v novověku (Why is Nature Beautiful? The Aesthetic Perception of Nature in the Modern Era). Praha: Dokořán, 2005, 202 pp. Bod. ISBN 80-7363-008-7. info
  • KANT, Immanuel. Kritika soudnosti. Edited by Milan Sobotka, Translated by Vladimír Špalek - Walter Hansel. Vyd. 1. Praha: Odeon, 1975, 271 s. info
    not specified
  • STIBRAL, Karel. Estetika přírody : K historii estetického oceňování krajiny (Aesthetics of Nature : Towards the History of Aesthetic Appreciation of Landscape). Červený Kostelec: P. Mervart, 2019, 529 pp. Edice Estetika, sv. 7. ISBN 978-80-7465-402-2. info
Approaches, practices, and methods used in teaching
Lectures

In spring, the lecture can be held outdoors, 

Method of verifying learning outcomes and course completion requirements
Standard lectures finished with the written exam and essay (5-7 pages based on journal articles dealing with the contemporary environmental aesthetics atc.).
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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