Contact us
 |
[email protected] |
 |
3275638434 |
 |
 |
| Paper Publishing WeChat |
Useful Links
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
Auditory Aesthetic Values and Environmental Protection in Antarctica
Author(s)
Eric M. Rubenstein
Full-Text PDF
XML 27 Views
DOI:10.17265/1548-6605/2025.07.001
Affiliation(s)
University of Akureyri, Akureyri, Iceland
ABSTRACT
The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty explicitly mentions the obligation to protect the intrinsic values of Antarctica, which are presented as including “aesthetic values”. Little guidance, however, is given on what counts as aesthetic values nor how to protect them on behalf of Antarctica’s environment. Discussions of aesthetics experiences and values have tended to focus on the visual. Viewed broadly, though, our range of aesthetic experiences surely encompasses a wider range than that. I argue here that we may make further progress on protecting the aesthetic values of Antarctica by focusing as well on auditory examples. Recognizing both the power of auditory experiences, and articulating how they may be catalogued and evaluated can help us widen the net of aesthetic values and in so doing further help strengthen environmental protections in the Antarctica context.
KEYWORDS
Antarctica Treaty, Environmental Protocol, aesthetics, soundscape
Cite this paper
Eric M. Rubenstein.Auditory Aesthetic Values and Environmental Protection in Antarctica.US-China Law Review, July 2025, Vol. 22, No. 7, 321-328
References
1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty 30 ILM 1455. (1991).
Aesthetic Experience. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aesthetic-experience/
BBC Sound Effects. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=antarctica
Byrne, A., & Hilbert, D. R. (Eds.). (1997). Readings on color, Vol. 2: The science of color. The Cambridge: MIT Press.
Codling, R. (1999). Wilderness and aesthetic values in the Antarctic (Ph.D. thesis, The Open University, 1999).
Codling, R. (2001). Wilderness and aesthetic values in the Antarctic. Polar Record, 37, 337-352.
Discovering Antarctica. (n.d.). The sound of silence. Retrieved from https://discoveringantarctica.org.uk/introducing-
antarctica/imagining-antarctica/the-sound-of-silence/
Duffield, B. S., & Coppock, J. T. (1975). The delineation of recreational landscapes: The role of a computer-based information
system. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 66, 141-148. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/621629
(accessed on 21 April 2024)
Goldsby, T. L., Goldsby, M. E., McWalters, M., & Mills, P. (2017). Effects of singing bowl sound meditation on mood, tension,
and well-being: An observational study. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 22, 401-406.
Retrieved from 10.1177/2156587216668109 (accessed on 24 April 2024)
Hays, P. R. (1965). Circuit Judge Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v. Federal Power Commission, 354 F.2d 608 (2d Cir.
1965).
John Cage’s 4’33’’. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTEFKFiXSx4
Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution (GESAMP). (1990). The state of the marine environment. Rep.
Stud. GESAMP No. 39. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000104624 (accessed on 24 April 2024)
Krause, B. (2016). Wild soundscapes: Discovering the voice of the natural world. New Haven: Yale University Press.
McDermott, J. (2012). Auditory preferences and aesthetics: Music, voices, and everyday sounds. In R. Dolan and T. Sharot (Eds.),
Neuroscience of preference and choice (pp. 227-256). New York: Academic Press. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-381431-9.00020-6 (accessed on 22 April 2024)
Nansen, F. (1893). Eskimo life. London: Longmans, Green, and Co.
Pijanowski, B., Villanueva-Rivera, L., Dumyahn, S., Farina, A., & Krause, B. (2011). What is soundscape ecology? An introduction
and overview of an emerging new science. Landscape Ecology, 26, 1213-1232. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/
10.1007/s10980-011-9600-8 (accessed on 24 April 2024)
Pijanowski, B., Villanueva-Rivera, L., Dumyahn, S., Farina, A., Krause, B., Napoletano, B., … Pieretti, N. (2011). Soundscape
ecology: The science of sound in the landscape. BioScience, 61, 203-216. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2011.61.3.6 (accessed on 22 April 2024)
Pink Floyd. (n.d.a). Time. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr0-7Ds79zo
Pink Floyd. (n.d.b). Money. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aW7HweAf3o
Preferences. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/preferences/
Richardson, B. (2019). The art of environmental law: Governing with aesthetics. London: Hart Publishing.
Richardson, B. (2021). Climate change law and aesthetics: A primer. In B. Mayer and A. Zahar (Eds.), Debating climate law (pp.
412-430). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Richardson, B., Barritt, E., & Bowman, M. (2019). Beauty: A lingua franca for environmental law? Transnational Environmental
Law, 8, 59-87. Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/transnational-environmental-law/article/beauty-a-
lingua-franca-for-environmental-law/DB7C03B5037190DEC20C39F9E0D55B9E (accessed on 18 April 2024)
Riesel, D. (1981). Aesthetics as a basis for regulation. Pace Law Review, 1(3), 629-633.
Schutz, M., & Stefanucci, J. K. (2019). Exploring the effects of “sound shape” on consumer preference. Ergonomics in Design, 27,
16-19. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/1064804618810031 (accessed on 24 April 2024)
Sounds like Antarctica. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://om-annex.s3-website-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/origins/antarctica/fieldnotes/
antarcticsounds.html
Sound vs. Noise. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/stem-explained/sound-vs-noise#
Summerson, R. (2011). Wilderness and aesthetic values of Antarctica. Exploring Antarctic Values (Proceedings of the Workshop
Exploring Linkages Between Environmental Management and Value Systems: The Case of Antarctica. University of
Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. SCAR Social Sciences Action Group. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/
publication/261989495_Exploring_Antarctic_Values (accessed on 18 April 2024)
The Antarctic and Arctic sounds rarely heard before. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-
64514258
The Antarctic Treaty, 402 U.N.T.S. 71. (June 23, 1961).
The Beatles. (n.d.). Yellow submarine. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2uTFF_3MaA
The Land of Pure Silence. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35QEU09XHxU
The Who. (n.d.a). I am the sea. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyN7WUKRicw
The Who. (n.d.b). Sea and sand. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-f3LnfdSC0
Type/Token. (n.d.). Greenland, Part 1 (The song). Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/eruby515/greenland-part-1-the-song
UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). (16 November 1972). Convention concerning the protection of
the world cultural and natural heritage. Retrieved from https://www.refworld.org/legal/agreements/unesco/1972/en/35057
(accessed on 20 April 2024)
Van Dongen, N. N., & Zijlmans, J. (2017). The science of art: The universality of the law of contrast. The American Journal of
Psychology, 130, 283-294. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.5406/amerjpsyc.130.3.0283 (accessed on 24 April 2024)
Wittgenstein, L. (2009). Philosophical investigations. London: Wiley-Blackwell.
Aesthetic Experience. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aesthetic-experience/
BBC Sound Effects. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=antarctica
Byrne, A., & Hilbert, D. R. (Eds.). (1997). Readings on color, Vol. 2: The science of color. The Cambridge: MIT Press.
Codling, R. (1999). Wilderness and aesthetic values in the Antarctic (Ph.D. thesis, The Open University, 1999).
Codling, R. (2001). Wilderness and aesthetic values in the Antarctic. Polar Record, 37, 337-352.
Discovering Antarctica. (n.d.). The sound of silence. Retrieved from https://discoveringantarctica.org.uk/introducing-
antarctica/imagining-antarctica/the-sound-of-silence/
Duffield, B. S., & Coppock, J. T. (1975). The delineation of recreational landscapes: The role of a computer-based information
system. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 66, 141-148. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/621629
(accessed on 21 April 2024)
Goldsby, T. L., Goldsby, M. E., McWalters, M., & Mills, P. (2017). Effects of singing bowl sound meditation on mood, tension,
and well-being: An observational study. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 22, 401-406.
Retrieved from 10.1177/2156587216668109 (accessed on 24 April 2024)
Hays, P. R. (1965). Circuit Judge Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v. Federal Power Commission, 354 F.2d 608 (2d Cir.
1965).
John Cage’s 4’33’’. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTEFKFiXSx4
Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution (GESAMP). (1990). The state of the marine environment. Rep.
Stud. GESAMP No. 39. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000104624 (accessed on 24 April 2024)
Krause, B. (2016). Wild soundscapes: Discovering the voice of the natural world. New Haven: Yale University Press.
McDermott, J. (2012). Auditory preferences and aesthetics: Music, voices, and everyday sounds. In R. Dolan and T. Sharot (Eds.),
Neuroscience of preference and choice (pp. 227-256). New York: Academic Press. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-381431-9.00020-6 (accessed on 22 April 2024)
Nansen, F. (1893). Eskimo life. London: Longmans, Green, and Co.
Pijanowski, B., Villanueva-Rivera, L., Dumyahn, S., Farina, A., & Krause, B. (2011). What is soundscape ecology? An introduction
and overview of an emerging new science. Landscape Ecology, 26, 1213-1232. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/
10.1007/s10980-011-9600-8 (accessed on 24 April 2024)
Pijanowski, B., Villanueva-Rivera, L., Dumyahn, S., Farina, A., Krause, B., Napoletano, B., … Pieretti, N. (2011). Soundscape
ecology: The science of sound in the landscape. BioScience, 61, 203-216. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2011.61.3.6 (accessed on 22 April 2024)
Pink Floyd. (n.d.a). Time. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr0-7Ds79zo
Pink Floyd. (n.d.b). Money. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aW7HweAf3o
Preferences. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/preferences/
Richardson, B. (2019). The art of environmental law: Governing with aesthetics. London: Hart Publishing.
Richardson, B. (2021). Climate change law and aesthetics: A primer. In B. Mayer and A. Zahar (Eds.), Debating climate law (pp.
412-430). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Richardson, B., Barritt, E., & Bowman, M. (2019). Beauty: A lingua franca for environmental law? Transnational Environmental
Law, 8, 59-87. Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/transnational-environmental-law/article/beauty-a-
lingua-franca-for-environmental-law/DB7C03B5037190DEC20C39F9E0D55B9E (accessed on 18 April 2024)
Riesel, D. (1981). Aesthetics as a basis for regulation. Pace Law Review, 1(3), 629-633.
Schutz, M., & Stefanucci, J. K. (2019). Exploring the effects of “sound shape” on consumer preference. Ergonomics in Design, 27,
16-19. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/1064804618810031 (accessed on 24 April 2024)
Sounds like Antarctica. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://om-annex.s3-website-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/origins/antarctica/fieldnotes/
antarcticsounds.html
Sound vs. Noise. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/stem-explained/sound-vs-noise#
Summerson, R. (2011). Wilderness and aesthetic values of Antarctica. Exploring Antarctic Values (Proceedings of the Workshop
Exploring Linkages Between Environmental Management and Value Systems: The Case of Antarctica. University of
Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. SCAR Social Sciences Action Group. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/
publication/261989495_Exploring_Antarctic_Values (accessed on 18 April 2024)
The Antarctic and Arctic sounds rarely heard before. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-
64514258
The Antarctic Treaty, 402 U.N.T.S. 71. (June 23, 1961).
The Beatles. (n.d.). Yellow submarine. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2uTFF_3MaA
The Land of Pure Silence. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35QEU09XHxU
The Who. (n.d.a). I am the sea. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyN7WUKRicw
The Who. (n.d.b). Sea and sand. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-f3LnfdSC0
Type/Token. (n.d.). Greenland, Part 1 (The song). Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/eruby515/greenland-part-1-the-song
UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). (16 November 1972). Convention concerning the protection of
the world cultural and natural heritage. Retrieved from https://www.refworld.org/legal/agreements/unesco/1972/en/35057
(accessed on 20 April 2024)
Van Dongen, N. N., & Zijlmans, J. (2017). The science of art: The universality of the law of contrast. The American Journal of
Psychology, 130, 283-294. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.5406/amerjpsyc.130.3.0283 (accessed on 24 April 2024)
Wittgenstein, L. (2009). Philosophical investigations. London: Wiley-Blackwell.