On John Muir's Preservation Theory And Its Enlightenment

It has been 30 years since our country implemented reform and opening up policy, which has brought great change to us: fast development of economy and higher standard of living. But meanwhile we have to deal with the same problems that developed countries had once faced with during this period: environmental pollution and ecological destruction. Therefore, scholars begin to find a way of re-establishing the moral system of people by studying western advanced theories, among which the study on John Muir's preservation theory is quite rare.With the settings that John Muir's preservation theory took form, this paper expounds on the essence of his theory, which is the nature being endowed with the equal right, nature community concept and value of wilderness. He opposed to Anthropocentrism, with the belief that all forms of life enjoying the same right and status as human beings do; they all have the feelings human beings have and to some extent they are superior in terms of surviving in nature. It is wrong to judge other organism according to our taste and prejudice. Besides, he discussed about the value of wilderness in aesthetic standards and do research in wilderness wholeheartedly. To protect wilderness, he started Sierra Club and developed and carried out Thoreau's theory about national park. Therefore, his preservation theory served as guidance of building up environmentally friendly society, solving ecological problems and improving our national park system.