Wilderness is a state of mind defined by wonder, not a fact of nature

Evidence

Indeed, one could almost measure wilderness by the extent to which our recognition of its otherness requires a conscious, willed act on our part. The romantic legacy means that wilderness is more a state of mind than a fact of nature, and the state of mind that today most defines wilderness is wonder. The striking power of the wild is that wonder in the face of it requires no act of will, but forces itself upon us—as an expression of the nonhuman world experienced through the lens of our cultural history—as proof that ours is not the only presence in the universe. — William Cronon, The Trouble with Wilderness; or,…, 78 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

It is not a pristine sanctuary where the last remnant of an untouched, endangered, but still transcendent nature can for at least a little while longer be encountered without the contaminating taint of civilization. Instead, it’s a product of that civilization, and could hardly be contaminated by the very stuff of which it is made. Wilderness hides its unnaturalness behind a mask that is all the more beguiling because it seems so natural. As we gaze into the mirror it holds up for us, we too easily imagine that what we behold is Nature when in fact we see the reflection of our own unexamined longings and desires. — William Cronon, The Trouble with Wilderness; or,…, 5 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Wilderness is a cultural construction, not an untouched natural sanctuary — William Cronon, The Trouble with Wilderness; or,…, 5; The word wilderness once meant desolate wasteland, not sacred refuge — William Cronon, The Trouble with Wilderness; or,…, 8; Wilderness wonder is a cultural state of mind, not a natural fact — William Cronon, The Trouble with Wilderness; or,…, 78 (+3 more)

Related

• Wilderness wonder is a cultural state of mind, not a natural fact (similarity 0.96)
• Wilderness is a cultural construction, not an untouched natural sanctuary (similarity 0.90)
• Wilderness is a cultural construct, not a place that exists apart from humanity (similarity 0.89)
• The word wilderness once meant desolate wasteland, not sacred refuge (similarity 0.88)
• Before the nineteenth century, wilderness meant wasteland and evoking terror, not beauty (similarity 0.87)
• Wilderness appreciation was an elite urban leisure projection, not a rural ideal. (similarity 0.84)
• The garden tree is as wild and wondrous as the forest tree (similarity 0.82)
• By the late nineteenth century the wilderness sublime had been domesticated into sentimentality (similarity 0.82)
• Wilderness originally signified biblical places of moral peril and exile (similarity 0.80)
• Every landscape, from city to wilderness, is both cultural and natural (similarity 0.80)
• Wilderness recreation is a class privilege that devalues rural land-based labor (similarity 0.80)
• William Cronon — The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature (similarity 0.79)
• The sublime and the frontier jointly remade wilderness into its modern form (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Wilderness wonder is a cultural state of mind, not a natural fact #corroborates (0.97) — William Cronon, The Trouble with Wilderness; or,…, 78
• Wilderness is a cultural construct, not a place that exists apart from humanity #expands (0.92) — William Cronon, The Trouble with Wilderness; or,…, 5