Wilderness And Wildness Are Not Synonyms
For many non-native English speakers, Wilderness and Wildness sound similar and sometimes even identical. However, that’s a wrong impression. Wilderness is Wilderness and Wildness is Wildness. Two separate terms, two different meanings.
Please also read: Wilderness And Wildness – What Is The Difference?
Differences between Wilderness and Wildness
To clarify this, Dr. John Hausdoerffer, Dean of School of Environment & Sustainability at Western Colorado University, shares his perspective and interpretation. His interpretation can be summarised in one sentence: Wildness is the essence of Wilderness but can be found everywhere. Wilderness is a place dedicated to the Wildness of nature. Dr. John Haudoerffer is also an editor of a book on this topic with the title Wildness: Relations of People and Place
In other words:
- Wilderness is “self-willed” land.
- Wildness is the basic ability of anything living to renew itself.
Please have a look how John analysed and explained meaning of these two words more deeply in the file below.
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