All things bright and beautiful? Toward an aesthetic ecotheology 1 Doestoevsky claimed that beauty will save the world. As the natural world faces the challenges of the Anthropocene, it is appropriate to ask how natural beauty might save the world from human beings? This paper develops an aesthetic ecotheology based upon four key ideas. Firstly, beauty is generated by entirely natural processes, in particular, evolution by natural selection. Secondly, aesthetic appreciation by humans and non-humans is shaped by evolutionary processes. Thirdly, for beauty to be a useful concept for ecology in general, and ecotheology in particular, it must be an emergent, non-reductive property. In particular, beauty must be grounded in God, i.e. a sacramental concept, transcending the merely evolutionary. Finally, an aesthetic ecotheology must be both global and local in nature such that it takes the particular seriously. In the Australian context, this means that aesthetic ecotheology must be attentive to the local environment and Indigenous aesthetic sensibilities. Dr Mick Pope (polymath@optusnet.com.au) has studied both meteorology and theology and is the coordinator of Ethos Environment, a think tank of Ethos: EA Centre of Christianity and Society. Can beauty save us? It is estimated that human beings share the Earth with approximately 8.7 million species. 2 However, we are not sharing very well. The present geological era has been described as the Anthropocene, where human beings are a dominant geological force. 3 We have breached, or are breaching, nine planetary boundaries, defined as providing a safe operating space for humanity. 4 In particular, the present age may be characterised as a sixth mass extinction event, with rates of extinction estimated to be of order 100 times that of the background rate. Extinction is driven by climate change, ocean acidification, habitat loss, over-fishing, and hunting, etc. 5 Furthermore, there is a continuing urbanisation of the human population, with 2014 statistics stating that 54% of the world lives in urban areas, with 80% in OECD countries. 6 Human beings in many parts of the world are increasingly becoming alienated from nature. One window to the natural world, or creation, is wildlife documentaries. In particular, those of the BBC Natural History Unit, for over 50 years narrated by David Attenborough, provide both an intellectually and aesthetically stimulating presentation, compared to some other programming. 7 Does the appeal of such documentaries suggest a role for beauty in motivating people to care for nature? Does aesthetics have a role to play in ecotheology? Given pragmatic concerns over the preservation of ecosystem services such as oxygen production, clean water, carbon storage, etc, or issues of ecojustice, are aesthetic considerations frivolous? 1 This article is a revised version of a paper given at “Care for all that exists: A Symposium on Creation Spirituality,” a symposium of the Carmelite Centre, Middle Park, Melbourne, 26-28 May, 2016. 2 Camilo Mora, Derek P. Tittensor, Sina Adl, et. al, “How many Species are there on Earth and in the Ocean?” PLOS Biology 9 (2011): 1-8, accessed June 15, 2016, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127. 3 Simon L. Lewis and Mark A. Maslin, “Defining the Anthropocene,” Nature 519 (2015): 171-180. 4 Will Steffen et al., “Planetary Boundaries: Guiding Human Development on a Changing Planet,” Science 347 (2015): 1-17, accessed January 15, 2015, DOI: 10.1126/science.1259855. 5 Elizabeth Colbert, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History (London: Bloomsbury, 2014). 6 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2015). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision, (ST/ESA/SER.A/366). 7 For a theological critique of wildlife documentaries, see Mick Pope, “S141 Christ and the Camera Lens: A Theology of Wildlife Documentation”, Zadok Paper Series, Spring 2005.