Abstract
The idea that an authentic life is one lived in, or according to, ‘nature’ is a common and recurring theme in Western traditions of thought. We begin here with the account of the Fall in early modern Protestantism, and look at how both natural science and the creation of botanical or landscape gardens were conceived as a route to at least partial redemption. Landscape gardens in turn reproduced landscape painting, as ‘nature’ was rendered in idealised form in order to provide a truly authentic and immersive experience. We then examine pre- and non-Christian sources for framing authentic life in nature—‘noble savages’ and pagan rites, as well as the idea of ‘wilderness’ and its importance for the contemporary radical ecology movement.
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