Longing to be in wild nature and designing a bonsai go hand in hand, as we learned in our interview with Zhao Qingquan. In fact, there are seven main nature-images to be found in the history of Western philosophy: Physis, Kosmos, Creatio, Universe, Landscape, Wilderness and Reservoir. These answers to the question of the ontology of nature are described by Prof. Dr. Hub Zwart from the Radboud University of Nijmegen. He tries to gain insight in our present experience of nature, arguing that these seven nature-images can be traced back in the present discussions about nature. An important note is that these beliefs and the moral appreciations of nature that lie in them, are closely connected with our ‘power’ over nature and the impact of our acting on our natural environment.
Physis refers to that which comes, exists and goes on its own accord, without human intervention. Early Greek philosophers like Herakleitos, distinguished changing (visible) and permanent (invisible) nature. Only the latter could be conceptualised as the visible nature couldn’t provide reliable knowledge. Nature was met with fear and respect, being all encompassing in a world where humans had little influence on it. The experience was one of respect.
From Plato onwards, nature was perceived of as creation. The idea, which dominated Kosmos thinking (idealism), was that nature was standing out in perfect order. Even though it’s ability to change and apparent inconstancy, the underlying structure was rational, equal and stable. The experience, which corresponds with this belief, was admiration. This admiration didn’t the real, visible nature, but the ideal mathematic structure.
For Christians, God is more powerful than the mathematical structure. Nature in terms of Creatio is a creation out of nothing. Instead of mere admiration, the Christian sees a more active role for himself. Being appointed by God, he should maintain and recover nature. The distance between paradise (perfection) and the real, fallen nature is man’s fault. In this belief, the experience is one of supervision.
In late Medieval times, the idea of nature as Universe (Rationalism) arises, which is indicated as Faustic thinking by Spengler. The Gothic period, with it’s explicit attempt to transcend nature, is the childhood of the industrial era. Where the Greek kosmos was a world on human scale, the Faustic universe is inhumanly empty and terrifyingly big. Scientists’ attention was drawn to the real, visible nature. They began building optical and mechanic instruments to manipulate nature on the one hand, and to perceive it with more scrutiny on the other. Thus determining the conditions by which a natural phenomenon manifests itself. Universe, here, stands for a neutralized, homogenized nature, in which life-forms loose concrete meaning for the human existence. From a moral point of view, the modern, rational belief explicitly distances itself from nature.
Romance is countering modern rationalism. Like Christianity, Romance looks back at an idyllic and harmonious situation between individuals, mind and body, but also man and nature. Subsequently, crisis occurs and man alienates from himself and his natural environment. When the 18th century forest landscape is demolished for the industrial revolution, the Romanticist discovers its value. The image of the lonesome wanderer in a magnificent natural landscape becomes almost an archetype of romance.
For Darwin, another nature-image dawns: Realism. This vision doesn’t see relationships and harmony, but a state of battle. Darwin sees proliferating nature, competition, the struggle for survival, the urge of reproduction and mass mortality. The experience of Wilderness is one of battle. The origin of species introduces this new realistic way of looking, which is also emerging in literature and politics. Marxists saw a continuation of the natural battle between varieties in the class struggle. Liberals saw a justification of their ideas on society as social competition.
For centuries, man barely influenced nature, the ecosphere. Nature took care of itself. Hans Jonas tries to thematise the new responsibility that comes with man’s increasing control over and effect on nature. Technology once held the promise of a better, more humane world, but has now become a threat to it. Nature is thought of as a Reservoir that we have to manage in justified way for future generations. The experience of this nature-image is sustainability.
Zwart concludes with questioning the attitude with which we should approach nature in the future. Ethics urges us to critically reflect on the possibilities and limitations of the nature-image that works in our thinking and acting.
We believe that bonsai simultaneously embodies nature and image. With this thought on our minds, we noticed another phenomenon on the streets of Yangzhou. Telephone and electricity boxes we found in parks, planters and roadsides were decorated with printed nature. Close ups of leaves, bamboo, rocks, and complete little trees as well. Mostly, the contrast between box and background was big, but on a few occasions, we encountered an almost perfect match. Besides the visual match, it got us thinking: What kind of nature-image would be at work here?