Nicolas Maxim: Beyond Cognitivism: Phenomenology and the Recovery of Place

In Lane's book Landscapes of the Sacred, Casey talks about human interaction with nature and argues that we cannot know nature without being engaged in it. He proceeds to say that sacred places are encountered by some sort of experience where we analyze the place's "affordances" and are somehow effected by the geography of the place. On page 56, Casey then gives six different "moments of Nature" in which he tells of the exchange between subject and matter. I agree with the several of Casey's points for many reasons.

Casey talks about the surrounding "ambient array", which I feel is the number one thing that first draws someone to a certain place. Usually someone is drawn to a place by its beauty and geography, and then they will have some kind of experience at the place which in-turn makes the place sacred.

He mentions that certain "things" we see at a place give it more meaning and draw more attention. This reminds me of when I visited New York at ground zero months after the towers fell. When we saw the rubble the place was just dirty and not anything special, but once we saw the stones with the names of all those who died the place took a completely different meaning. The fact that human beings had died there gave it a more sacred and holy feeling, because death is often associated with holiness and spirituality.

Lastly, he talks about the "atmosphere" of a place, and argues that the atmosphere is what gives the place its identity and mood. This is true aswell because when I was hiking in Zion National Park we hiked up to a place called Scouts Landing which was right below Angels Landing. Our hike had been tough but the next part was much tougher. The next hundred yards was no wider than 24" and had chains to hold on to in order to reach the peak. We didn't do the second part, however, I would imagine that once reaching the peak the atmosphere of the place would give you a feeling of peacefulness and insignificance. The feeling of insignificance would come from fact that the mountain is much greater than you.

These are just some examples of why I agree with Casey's "moments of Nature". While the other three points are important I felt that these three were ones that I could relate to through my personal experiences.

-Nicolas Maxim