Towards landscape conscience: a geographical perspective

Abstract

This article aims to show the reciprocal significance of space to human conscience and vice versa. We argue that human conscience is equally founded on external, spatial relations rather than strictly internal states or processes, and we apply the concept of ‘conscience’ to the landscape (‘landscape conscience’). Through an extensive literature review of relevant scientific fields, the article builds its argument for the spatiality of conscience beyond its previously strictly anthropocentric emphasis as a purely internal phenomenon, towards a more contingent and comprehensive approach to its study as a humans-space/landscape interrelationship. Further, we aim to elucidate the ways in which ‘landscape’ is amenable to—and consequently may profit from—the employment of the concept and insights of ‘conscience’. The interconnections and interlinkages of the three broadly defined domains/spheres of human faculties/capacities (perception, emotion, behaviour) in formulating and linking together human interrelations to the surrounding world, emerge as inherently instrumental to conscience formation.

Keywords:

• Conscience
• spatiality
• landscape
• human-space interrelationships

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Evangelos Pavlis

Evangelos Pavlis is Assistant Professor at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development at the Agricultural University of Athens in Greece. He conducted a post-doc in social/rural geography (Panteion University, Greece, 2016–2020), and holds a Ph.D. in Cultural/Landscape Geography with emphasis on rural landscape, (University of the Aegean, Greece, 2006–2012), an M.Sc. in Rural Change (Coventry University, UK, 2001–2002) and a bachelor’s in countryside change and management (Coventry University, UK, 1997–2000). His research, publishing and teaching experience and interests regard social/rural geography and cultural/landscape geography. He also has experience as an administrator and a consultant in environmental/landscape, local development and social economy acts and initiatives. He is Secretary-General of the Hellenic Association of Geographers. His main research topics and publishing material involve issues such as landscape change, landscape perception, landscape values, ecomuseums, sustainable rural development, social economy and commons.

Theano S. Terkenli

Theano S. Terkenli is a professor and has been a founding member of the first Department of Geography in Greece, University of the Aegean, since 1994. She has served as faculty at various graduate programs, including the Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Tourism Planning, Administration and Policy (University of the Aegean) (1999–2020) and the International Interdepartmental M.Sc. in Sustainable Tourism Development: Cultural Heritage, Environment, Society (Harokopeion University, University of the Aegean, and Université-Paris I-Panthéon Sorbonne), since 2018. She holds a Ph.D. in Geography, University of Minnesota—Twin Cities, USA (1986–1993); an M.Sc. in Landscape Architecture, University of Wisconsin—Madison, USA (1983–1986); and a bachelor’s in forestry and environmental sciences, Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Greece (1978–1983). Her research, publishing and teaching specialty and interests are in cultural geography, landscape geography and critical perspectives to tourism. TST has been a conference organiser, and/or board member of several international and Greek associations/organizations. Indicatively, some of her books are: Connections, Mobilities, Urban Prospects and Environmental Threats: the Mediterranean in Transition, edited with Annick Douguedroit and Louis F. Cassar; Human Geography: Humans, Society and Space, edited with T. Iosifidis and I. Chorianopoulos; Landscapes of a New Cultural Economy of Space, edited with Anne - Marie d’ Hauteserre.