ABSTRACT
Human perceptions of beauty in nature are an important part of environmentalism. Various explanations of natural beauty have been proposed, including aesthetic appreciation as an adaptive characteristic of natural selection, as an ancillary effect of other adaptive traits, as an artifact of the anatomy and physiology of human sensory and nervous systems, and as an element of cultural evolution. One manifestation of aesthetic preference is the romanticized view of nature as a progressive system of balance, harmony, and charisma. This perspective conflicts with natural processes of randomness, change, and competition. The failure to reconcile process and change with mental models of beauty is part of the conceptual conflict of modern environmentalism. Still, that which makes certain aspects of our environment seem to us to be special, beautiful, and worthy of protection may be an ancient mechanism of connecting with other human beings. Perception of natural beauty can in this respect be an important part of a relational environmentalism.
