Evolutionary Aesthetics Within Landscapes
Updated: Sep 7
Across the world’s communities and cultures, landscape preferences remain remarkably consistent, even among places that have never made contact with one another. This striking consistency can be explored through the world of evolutionary aesthetics, a field that uses Darwinian evolutionary studies to understand why some things appeal to humans and not others. Researchers studying this topic often look at beauty, art, sights, sounds, and shapes to connect aesthetic preferences with ancestral lifestyle, or if they are just side effects of brain development. Humans and animals may gain strong preferences to certain visual or auditory signals, shaping how mating displays and art change over time. Evolutionary aesthetics research plays a major role in the several theories that explain landscape preferences. The most common and relevant theories are the Savannah Hypothesis or Biophilia Hypothesis, prospect refuge theory, and the information processing theory.
So, the Savannah Hypothesis essentially tells us that over time, humans have evolved with distinct traits that affect what is necessary within our environment–when it’s raining most want to be inside or when it is cold out many want a jacket. Developed broadly by Charles Darwin and later more intricately by Gordon Orians and Judith Heerwagen suggests that over time, humans began walking upright on two legs rather than their previous four legged walking. This forced them to move out of the density of the jungles and into savannas often in Africa. Savannah environments often had open grassy floors which provided humans with easy movement and clear visibility. They also had scattered trees which provided shade, climbable refuge, and plant resources. Along with these, the savannah had an open presence of water like lakes or rivers and unobstructed sightlines often used to scan for danger within horizons. These all play into why people now enjoy open landscapes today. This hypothesis suggests that because humans enjoyed and desired to live in environments like the African Savannah, people today are drawn to aspects that were a part of the Savannah due to evolution.
Another theory is called the Biophilia Hypothesis. Popularized by biologist E. O. Wilson in 1984, this hypothesis suggests that humans possess an innate, genetically determined desire to connect with nature and living things. This theory suggests that natural landscapes improve stress by lowering blood pressure and reduce cortisol levels faster than urban settings. Soft fascination with outdoor scenery helps relieve mental fatigue and restores focus. Exposure to shifting outdoor light and seasonal changes help support healthy sleep cycles and better circadian rhythm. Lively elements like animals, moving water, and plants can trigger these positive psychological responses.
Often complemented by the Biophilia Hypothesis, there is a theory called prospect and refuge. Geographer Jay Appleton proposed this theory in his 1975 book Experience of Landscape. Similar to other theories it suggests that human aesthetic preferences for certain places are rooted in evolutionary survival. The concept of prospect states that humans favor an environment with the ability to see and scan an environment for food and resources, as well as approaching danger without being detected. On the other hand, the concept of refuge states that favor can come from a place of safety, shelter, or enclosure that protects an individual from threats behind or above them. On an evolutionary standpoint early humans needed vantage points to spot predators while also having a place to retreat to if necessary, reducing stress and bringing a sense of comfort. In modern times we have our own version–in a restaurant people often gravitate towards booth seats with a wall partition or avoiding tables exposed in the middle of the room.
The last theory is called the information processing theory, and yes, the name does play a large role in the actual theory itself. Pioneered by environmental psychologists Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, this theory explains that humans tend to prefer natural sceneries that help them make sense of an environment and actively explore it. With this, humans can judge landscapes on how easily their minds can process their visual surroundings for survival. These can be changed and appealed to through both exploration and understanding. With understanding often comes the instant ability to make sense of what is in front of you while exploration comes the desire to dive deeper, driven by curiosity and the promise of new information. The Kaplans organized these two human needs into two levels of processing, immediate and inferred to create 4 different landscape predictors. The first one is coherence which articulates the desire to understand through order and organization–essentially how easily a scene can be “made sense of”, specifically at first glance. The 2nd predictor is complexity, which conveys the need for diversity within a scene or the sheer amount of visual elements within the scene that keeps an observer engaged. The 3rd predictor is legibility which is the ease of navigation and how well an observer can map the landscape to avoid getting lost. The last predictor is mystery, which is the promise of hidden information or an occurrence such as a flickered light or a bend in the path that draws the observer to explore more.
Despite differences in culture and environment, humans continue to share similar preferences for certain landscapes, and evolutionary aesthetics provides a way to understand why these preferences exist. The Savannah Hypothesis, Biophilia Hypothesis, Prospect-Refuge Theory and Information Processing Theory all look at preference for certain landscapes at different angles yet all share a link to human survival and well being. Together these theories say that water, vegetation, open views, shelter organization, and chances to explore were useful to our ancestors, helping them find food, move through the area, and spot danger. Therefore what looks like cultural taste can show deeper patterns in how humans react to the world around them. These evolutionary patterns still shape spaces through landscape architecture, urban design, interior areas, and so much more today. The beauty that humans see in a landscape is not a personal choice; it is a pattern created by years of living alongside and with nature. Knowing these patterns help modern designers build scapes that are not only pretty but also meet the mental and physical needs that humans have carried for a long time.
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