Abbey And Deserts:Ecological And "Humanistic"

Edward Abbey is a peculiar American eco-writer of the twentieth century.His literary creation has a huge and far-reaching impact on the world's ecological literature and the whole ecological civilization.There is a wealth of ecological thought contained in his works,but there is still a lot of the residue of the anthropocentrism.From the perspective of ecological thought and ecological aesthetics,and within the relationship between Abbey and deserts embodied in his works,this paper analyzes the contradictions of his thoughts and artistic expression,and discusses the ecology and non-ecology of his works,that is,ecological and"humanistic"-anthropocentrism.This paper is divided into three parts:The first contradiction is about the cognition of aesthetics.On the one hand,Abbey basically abandons the anthropocentrism in the desert aesthetics,trying to recognize and express the original beauty of the desert itself.On the other hand,confronting with some desert creatures,some natural areas or landscapes,Abbey still shows a certain degree of arrogance and possessiveness,which is clearly anthropocentric attitude towards nature.The second contradiction is about the experience of aesthetics.On the one hand,Abbey is committed to the integral experience of deserts and tries to blend in,expressing the beauty and his direct feelings of deserts.On the other hand,he regards the desert as a home,but also an amusement park and a shelter,instrumentalizing the desert to a certain extent.He is eager to return to the natural home but also enjoy the comfort and convenience of urban life.Hence,to a certain extent,Abbey's efforts of returning home end up in a failure.The third contradiction is about the inter-subjectivity.On the one hand,Abbey endeavors to establish and maintain an inter-disciplinary relationship with deserts and creatures in it.He shows his respect to the subjectivity of the desert,and also sticks to his own subjectivity.On the other hand,he regards the desert creatures as an external object to express his ego,or as an objective counterpart of his own spirit and emotion.Abbey's ecological thought is incomplete and flawed,but he has a clear self-reflection on his own ideological contradictions,especially the residue of the anthropocentrism,and has developed a profound and continuous self-criticism.These two different voices in his works,the ecological and "humanistic",compose the polyphony of thought,developing an open space of re-creation for readers.