Reconsidering Wilderness: Prospective Ethics for Nature, Technology, and Society

In this paper I seek to reconsider wilderness against recent critiques that portray it as necessarily contributing to a separation between nature and society. By examining the historical and contemporary contexts for designating wilderness areas in the United States, I propose that these wilderness lands and their particular constraints on the use of certain technologies may in fact present integrative, open spaces for considering how to live ethical, technological lives in contemporary society. An examination of actual wilderness practices illustrates how wilderness regulations may support a more democratic politics of technology and help develop an ethic grounded in fairness, humility, and restraint.