http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/nature Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Sun, 07 Jun 2026 22:44:24 -0400 Sun, 07 Jun 2026 22:44:24 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1878/commodifying-nature-reflections-of-hegemony-in-ecotourism By Amna Abudyak - This paper will attempt to link fundamental ideas and terms of environmental sociology in the context of ecotourism relating to human society and conceptions of nature. Furthermore, connections to neo-Marxist and neo-Gramscian theories will be made. As humans’ urban “habitats” grow exponentially, the relationship between tourism (i.e. ecotourism) and the naturework associated with the industry becomes increasingly important on the environmental, political, and cultural levels. As the tourists flows primarily from the Global North to the Global South are investigated sociologically... Thu, 18 Feb 2021 08:58 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1878/commodifying-nature-reflections-of-hegemony-in-ecotourism http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1643/nature-or-culture-the-anthropocene-as-social-narrative By Kelly Power - Is it possible to objectively define the Anthropocene? This essay argues that whether or not it is precisely definable as a geological epoch, its true value, as a concept grounded in futurity, lies within the social realm. The origins of the term are discussed and several hypotheses for defining the Anthropocene are considered. These are linked to earlier accounts of human influence over the environment. Next, the universality of the Anthropocene narrative is challenged, with an emphasis on its cultural and social dimensions. This critique does not seek to diminish its value but refocus it, stressing... Mon, 22 May 2017 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1643/nature-or-culture-the-anthropocene-as-social-narrative http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1499/was-spinoza-a-kabbalist-the-influence-of-jewish-mysticism-in-book-i-of-ethics By Rocco A. Astore - Throughout philosophy’s history, some of its most prominent thinkers have drawn inspiration from sources outside of its canon. It is of my opinion that one of these philosophers, Spinoza, in the first book of his Ethics, borrowed elements of the Kabbalah, to portray his image of God. The first purpose of this piece is to explicate Spinoza’s understanding of God, or Nature so that the reader can assess and become familiarized with his views. Next, by using Daniel C. Matt’s The Essential Kabbalah, the Heart of Jewish Mysticism, I will hope to convey a general idea of the Kabbalist... Wed, 23 Nov 2016 09:07 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1499/was-spinoza-a-kabbalist-the-influence-of-jewish-mysticism-in-book-i-of-ethics http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1433/comparing-godly-and-satanic-happiness-in-john-miltons-paradise-lost By Alison L. Bare - Two conflicting modes of living—happiness pursued obediently (Godly) versus happiness pursued disobediently (Satanic)—produce persistent problems with conceptions of free will in John Milton’s Paradise Lost. The Godly mode of happiness recognises that one is free to choose their path to human happiness, but only within God’s bounds; the Satanic mode of happiness recognises that one is entitled to human happiness, but not limited by God’s bounds. It is the relationship between these two modes of living that reveals a Miltonic paradox—free to choose human happiness... Sun, 21 Aug 2016 03:41 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1433/comparing-godly-and-satanic-happiness-in-john-miltons-paradise-lost http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1154/wordsworths-tintern-abbey-conveying-experience-through-nature By Dale T. Fetterman - He describes what is and what was, and how the comprehension of this change has inspired a course of reflection that takes Wordsworth along a stream of thoughts about regret, present awareness and introspection, concluding with hope for the future. His sister Dorothy also is present as another physical being that Wordsworth is able to look to in order to draw further ideas about the impressions gained from gazing out upon the natural world. Despite the lack of physical action or movement within the piece, the progression of Wordsworth’s mental fluctuations and experiences are used in order... Tue, 22 Sep 2015 09:07 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1154/wordsworths-tintern-abbey-conveying-experience-through-nature http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/954/rachel-carson-humanizing-nature By Mikayla Stewart - Rachel Carson was instrumental in changing the way the world viewed conservation. Her initial written works demonstrated the idea that humans were not the center of the earth’s ecosystems by describing the environment from the viewpoint of non-human creatures (Cafaro, 2011, para. 45-48). Carson’s most eminent publication, Silent Spring, was released at the beginning of the 1960s (Cafaro, 2011, para. 25). The book advocated Carson’s concept of enlightened anthropocentrism through the insistence that new scientific innovations should be questioned as to why, whether, and for what... Tue, 30 Sep 2014 04:37 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/954/rachel-carson-humanizing-nature http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/911/humanity-and-its-place-in-nature-rethinking-the-reality-of-wilderness By Thomas R. Smith - The Western concept of wilderness encompasses pristine, untrammeled land viewed as “the last remaining place where civilization…has not fully infected the earth” (Cronon, 1995, p. 69). Indeed, many Americans possess this dualistic vision that separates nature and humanity, thus leading to the creation of preservation areas that restrict human habitation. Of course, the protection of what is perceived as “pristine” and “virgin” land completely ignores the fact that humans inhabited these lands for millennia without permanently damaging them. Instead, these... Sun, 07 Sep 2014 10:42 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/911/humanity-and-its-place-in-nature-rethinking-the-reality-of-wilderness http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/871/would-you-cheat-cheating-behavior-human-nature-and-decision-making By Piotr M. Patrzyk - While it is now apparent that the extreme version of the first claim – i.e. the ‘blank slate’ dogma combined with the noble savage myth – is difficult to validate (Pinker, 2003), the exact extent to which people might be considered depraved remains highly contentious as well. The view that we are innately evil and that there are no forces within us that would stop us from the worst atrocities also seems wrong. We are capable of choosing moral behavior even if the alternative brings us more immediate benefits. Still, it is not clear how certain behaviors should be interpreted... Thu, 20 Mar 2014 10:57 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/871/would-you-cheat-cheating-behavior-human-nature-and-decision-making http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/782/on-freedom-and-progress-comparing-marx-and-mill By Frank Wang - This essay compares Karl Marx’s and J.S. Mill’s understandings of freedom and their analyses of the impediments to its realization. First, this essay argues that the two philosophers share the same premise that progress is possible and that mankind has the capacity to drive it. Second, this essay argues that while their conceptions of freedom differ, both see freedom as an end in itself. Then, the essay argues that while their views on what is necessary for progress differ, they share an understanding of human nature’s basic tendancy for self-cultivation. What distinguishes them... Mon, 04 Nov 2013 08:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/782/on-freedom-and-progress-comparing-marx-and-mill http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/599/jane-austens-unnamed-character-exploring-nature-in-pride-and-prejudice-2005 By Kathleen E. Gilligan - The 2005 film Pride & Prejudice opens with sound rather than picture, but it is not the expected man-made musical score that fills the air. Rather it is nature’s music: the song of birds, particularly blackbirds. As Lydia Martin’s article “Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice: From Classicism to Romanticism” states, “The film’s opening with overlapping birdsong, heard even before the first image appears on screen, suggests the awakening of nature.” Then picture fills the screen, and the audience can see a shot of a beautiful green field. Lush trees... Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:05 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/599/jane-austens-unnamed-character-exploring-nature-in-pride-and-prejudice-2005 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/572/selling-the-wild-challenges-facing-volunteer-based-conservation-projects By Eve R. Hill - Volunteer conservation is a rapidly growing sub-sector of eco-tourism where fee-paying volunteers travel to developing countries to actively engage in conservation work (Cousins et al 2009b). As volunteers provide the labor and funding for these projects, organizations vie for the attention and capital of volunteers through advertising. Consequently, conservation work has become a marketable commodity in a competitive neoliberal market that is increasingly dominated by private companies (Cousins et al 2009b; Lorimer 2010). To ‘sell’ conservation, volunteer organizations thus construct... Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/572/selling-the-wild-challenges-facing-volunteer-based-conservation-projects http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/349/hobbes-leviathan-and-views-on-the-origins-of-civil-government-conservatism-by-covenant By Katherine J. Wolfenden - Of course, even if a sovereign was chosen by the people, his successors would not come to power under the same circumstances, and the subjects’ descendants would not have been given a choice. Hobbes states that there is no difference between the rights of a sovereign who comes to power by force and a sovereign who is elected to power through political means; he even responds to potential critics who “hold all such covenants as proceed from fear of death or violence void,” saying that “if it were true, no man in any kind of commonwealth could be obliged to obedience&rdquo... Thu, 30 Dec 2010 01:59 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/349/hobbes-leviathan-and-views-on-the-origins-of-civil-government-conservatism-by-covenant http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/90/art-and-biology-how-discoveries-in-biology-influenced-the-development-of-art-nouveau By Katherine Blakeney - Art Nouveau is the so-called “modern style” developed at the turn of the 19th century. Although it is dated roughly between 1890 and 1910, its first true recognition as an important new movement in art and design occurred at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1900. It manifested itself as an international and versatile style that influenced every kind of art and craft from architecture to the decorative arts. Its universal appeal was based on the artists’ effort to explain and express the new era that was ushered in by the incredible scientific discoveries of the nineteenth... Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:59 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/90/art-and-biology-how-discoveries-in-biology-influenced-the-development-of-art-nouveau