文明进步的尺度:美国社会森林观念的变迁及其影响

The Measure of the Social Progress: The Evolution of the Perception on the Forest by the American Society and Its Consequences

受欧洲文化传统影响,美国人曾将森林视为"野蛮"的象征和"文明"的对立物。这一观念为美国人的毁林行为提供了伦理上的正义性。但随着毁林所带来的生态和社会后果日益凸显,美国社会对森林的态度也从原来的敌视转向欣赏,这种认知转变为后来的森林保护运动做出了舆论准备。以缪尔为首的自然保护派和以平肖为首的资源保护派之间的分歧,不仅反映出二者关于森林保护的目的、道路和手段之间的差异,也体现了生态中心主义和人类中心主义两种保护理念的差别。在森林观念发生转变的同时,美国社会对植树造林活动的认识也经历了一番变化,从早年试图改变气候、防治水土流失和砍伐地复植等针对性很强的保护活动,日益沦为掩盖美国社会破坏森林行为、对环境过度索取的奢靡性消费方式的工具。

The perception on the nature is an ecological measure for the social progress and the Americans' perception on the forest can be taken as an excellent example. Influenced by the traditional European culture,the Americans considered the forest a symbol of ‘barbarism ' and the opposite of the‘civilization'. This provided the ethical justice for the Americans to destruct the forest. However,with the deteriorating ecological and social consequences of forest destruction,the Amercans' attitude toward the forest gradually changed from hostility to appreciation,which paved a solid foundation of the public opinion for the movement of forest protection later. The divergence between the idea of forest preservation,represented by John Muir,and the idea of resources conservation,represented by G.Pinchot,reflected not only the differences of the purpose,path and means for forest protection between the both sides, but the differences of the protection conception between ecocentrism and anthropocentrism. While the perception of the forest protection changed,the idea of the American society about the tree-planting underwent the changings as well. The protection activities,including the attempt of changing the climate,the prevention of the water and soil erosion,and the re-cultivation of the tree-cutting areas,gradually descended to the means of covering the activities of forest destruction and luxurious consumption of excessively exploiting the environment by the American society.