論瑞秋卡森海洋三書裡的幾個哲學問題

On Some Philosophical Problems in Rachel Carson’s Three Books about the Sea

美國生態學家瑞秋卡森(Rachel Carson, 1907-1964)最著名且最有影響力的書，是她在1962 年所出版的《寂靜的春天》(SilentSpring)。這本書兼具知性與感性，展現卡森的兩項長才：生態學與文學。卡森還有三本描寫海洋的書，在當時同樣都是暢銷書。這三本書是《在海風下》(Under the Sea Wind, 1941)、《環繞我們的海洋》(The Sea Around Us, 1951)、以及《海之濱》(The Edge of theSea, 1955)。儘管這三本書的知名度與影響力遠不及《寂靜的春天》，但它們都流露出卡森生態學與文學這兩項特長。從今日的眼光來看，我們會發現這三本書涉及科學哲學、環境倫理學與環境美學等好幾個重要的哲學問題。

The most famous and influential book of American ecologist RachelCarson is Silent Spring, which was published in 1962. This book, which ischaracterized by scientific rationality and literary eloquence, shows Carson’secological expertise and literary talent. Besides, Carson wrote three books aboutthe sea, all of them best-sellers: Under the Sea Wind (1941), The Sea Around Us(1951), and The Edge of the Sea (1955). Although the fame and influence of thethree books are far less than Silent Spring, they also reveal Carson’sextraordinary knowledge and skill in ecology and literature. In this paper, Iargue that we can find that the three books are relevant to some importantphilosophical problems confronting the areas of philosophy of science,environmental ethics, and environmental aesthetics.