Analysis Of Wilderness By William Cronon

William Cronon argues that wilderness is not what we perceive it to be. Cronon says that wilderness is an idea created by humans that has had various definitions and societal meanings over the course of human history. In addition, he argues that by adopting a wilderness approach to nature environmentalists are missing the point. No place is truly wilderness because in some way, shape, or form humans have been altering the world around them and they have been doing since the dawn of civilization. Cronon is right, wilderness as most people perceive it does not exist. However, I believe Cronon is a bit too harsh on environmentalists on the idea of wilderness. I argue that believing in a wilderness is a part of human nature and the human experience, …show more content…
Looking back on it I can see how fabricated that forest was. Only some of the trees looked as if they were more than 30 years old. The deer paths I followed were strictly in the woods, and avoided any of the nearby houses that were built up around them. Many of the ‘lost artifacts’ I found were human creations. A pile of rocks I had found were dumped there by nearby farmers clearing their fields. The canoes I found -obviously human made- were not even native American. They were just rowboats with metal sides and were of European make. No to mention the gully itself. Surely there had to be water there at one point if someone had a rowboat there. That water was no longer there. A good bet is that the water was used by the same farmers who dumped the rocks there to water their …show more content…
(Cronon 19-20) He makes a good point because the trees in what we call the wilderness are really no different from the trees in our own backyard. I think this is a very good point, and it’s true that nature is all around us. However, while his idea of self-consciousness is good, humans also have their own nature- human nature. It is in human nature to want there to be an unknown or wilderness to explore. It is same reason why when I was a boy liked to explore the forest. It was unknown to me as an individual, even if other people were there before and changed it into an artificial construct. Most places on Earth have been shaped by humans and the physical wilderness no longer exists, and it has not existed for hundreds or perhaps even thousands of years. However the desire to explore the wilderness is real, even if the wilderness is not. Humans simply need a new outlet for this desire that is not the fabricated landscapes around us today. Virtual reality could be the answer, or even places like the Moon or