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The island of Visovac – a school of fraternizing with other creatures / Bože Vuleta

“By its godly beauty the small island of Visovac does not only attract the aesthetically interested and pilgrims. Thank to its position and environment this island is also an extraordinary site of religious and contemplative inspiration to its inhabitants and visitors. The paper deals with various aspects of the awe of nature. 1. The aesthetic aspect of awe refers to the perceptual observation accompanied by the premonition of the all–involving, the experience of the interdependence between all creatures and their virtue of being “aimlessly aimed”. 2. The contemplative and mystical aspect of awe refers to a form of religious immersion in nature. This dimension of awe is rooted in the admiration of nature’s wonderfulness. It is reflected as a sense of community, i.e. of unity with all existent and living creatures, nature being comprehended as a gift. The symbolic character of nature initiated in numerous natural scientists the so–called “cosmic religiosity”. 3. When nature becomes to man something that is worth his admiring, his attitude towards nature becomes ethical. In this sense, the most vulnerable turns — in a way — into the most conspicuous object of man’s admiration and something which is worth being protected from his superordinate power. 4. St. Francis of Assisi, who developed the “cosmic mysticism”, is being presented as the archetypal example of how man can live with nature harmoniously. In the final part of the paper, the island of Visovac — together with its natural and cultural contents — is being presented as a “school” of awe and a site of fraternizing with other creatures.”

Sažetak rada: Vuleta, B. The island of Visovac – a school of fraternizing with other creatures. // Socijalna ekologija : časopis za ekološku misao i sociologijska istraživanja okoline 6, 1/2(1997), str. 117-127.