美善交融:环境美学新视野——艾伦·卡尔松教授访谈

A New Vision of Environmental Aesthetics Blended with Beauty and Goodness:An Interview with Professor Alan Carlson

艾伦·卡尔松(Allen Carlson)教授是当代西方环境美学的开创者、拓展者和代表性学者之一。他于20世纪八九十年代倡导的科学认知主义理论(Scientific Cognitivist Theory)乃当代西方环境美学重要的学术成果,该理论以极力强调自然审美欣赏的客观性立场,以及自然科学知识在自然审美欣赏中的重要作用而知名。进入21世纪以来,卡尔松教授为自己的环境美学增加了环境伦理维度,并以极大的热情关注中国生态美学的传统资源与当代学术成果,认为来自中国的智慧与立场对于西方环境美学的拓展和丰富,具有不可替代的独特价值。南开大学哲学院薛富兴教授于2007—2008在加拿大阿尔伯塔大学(University of Alberta)哲学系访学,师从卡尔松教授,在此期间他们已有深入的学术交流和探讨。时隔10余年后,两人再次以学术访谈的形式就环境美学相关问题进行深入交流。这既是卡尔松面向中国学术界的一个最新的自我介绍,又可理解为中西方环境美学界同仁的一次对话,读者正可从中见出当代环境美学研究的新趋势。希望这次访谈与本期专辑的另外两篇文章结合起来,能够为国内学术界提供一个了解卡尔松环境美学研究新成果的较好窗口。

This is the second interview between Allen Carlson and Xue Fuxing.In this interview,the dialogue focuses on the recent development of Allen Carlson’s“Scientific Cognitivist Theory”in environmental aesthetics.Carlson’s main achievements in the new century concentrate on two aspects.First,he introduces environmental ethic dimension into his theory famous for its original“cognitive approach”;second,strongly interested in Chinese ecoaesthetics,he argues that Chinese contemporary ecological aesthetics which stresses the harmony between human and nature may provide a new alternative for today’s Western environmental aesthetics faced with the hard choice of the traditional modern dichotomy between fact and value.However,Xue Fuxing prefers to hold the original position of the theory because this kind of theory can be quite crucial for a right starting point both for aesthetics of nature and aesthetics of environment.Moreover,it can be a powerful instrument for Chinese scholars to reflect the subjective tradition of aesthetic appreciation of nature in ancient China.