Aesthetics and the environment : the appreciation of nature, art and architecture

Traditional aesthetics is often associated with the appreciation of art.

Allen Carlson shows how much of aesthetic experience does not encompass art but nature, in one's response to sunsets, mountains or horizons or more mundane surroundings, like gardens or the view from a window.

He argues that knowledge of what it is that people are appreciating is essential to having an appropriate aesthetic experience and that scientific understanding of nature can enhance the appreciation of it, rather than denigrate it.