• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.105-113
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• 2015

The theory of landscape architecture applies environmental ethics in order to secure an ecological status. However, environmental ethics that focus on nature conservation excludes landscape architecture as artifacts. In the process, it is hard to identify what landscape architecture insists on as the middle position between humans and nature. Rather, landscape architecture pretends to be an 'agent of nature' and pushes the traditional moral values 'for people.' Therefore, the purpose of this study is to reestablish the anthropocentrism moral position of landscape architecture through critical analysis. Hargrove's weak anthropocentrism' of several environmental ethics branches accepts natural aesthetics(such as landscape architecture) as an ethical virtue. But environmental ethics makes landscape architecture a critical target. For that reason, this study looked into critical contents and objects that in a position to moral, aesthetic and landscape architecture. Critical details are as follows: First, nature is an absolute as an aesthetic and moral value, but landscape architecture is an imitation and takes a relaxed attitude about nature. Second, nature is full of aesthetic substance because it is self-creative, but landscape architecture is designed nature covered human flaws through imagination. Third, environmental management granting techniques in nature generate a moral nihilism. As an argument, environmental ethics overlooked the moral practices of landscape architecture beyond nature another moral aspect of creation and the imagination-and moral aspects of environmental management as 'care' because they rule out 'moral autonomy' and simplify what is considered 'good.' As a result, conservation cannot be the only virtue why the problem of nature in reality cannot be separated from human life. The moral position of landscape architecture based on a 'good life' is more appropriate under anthropocentrism than as a middle position.