On Ecological Interpretation

Abstract

This article works on the interdisciplinary grounds of phenomenology and ecology, analyzing and dialoguing with the thought of preservationist Freeman Tilden, to provide the hitherto underutilized concept of interpretation as an avenue for addressing current ecological crises. This analysis provides data for the phenomenologist to enter their own dialogue with Tilden on eco-philosophy. The article concludes with the story of a pebble, exploring from a different angle the process and import of the writing of this article, contextualized ethnographically from the position of the author’s own double-employment as a scholar of aesthetics, and interpretive park ranger.

Keywords

• ecology
• aesthetics
• phenomenology
• Freeman Tilden
• interpretation