Representations of nature in the European culture of the old and modern times: aesthetic and ethical meaning

The article deals with the concept of nature in the culture of antiquity (Biblical time), Antiquity, Renaissance, in the era of baroque and classicism. The theoretical issues of cognition, perception of nature and its artistic display always excited the researchers. In different cultures there is one unifying principle in the perception of nature - aesthetic. It is noted that in the formation of the concept of nature the most important role was played by the myth associated with the cult of a particular epoch, which was realized in art in a characteristic way. The perception of nature in the modern times, when the myth no longer had a dominant influence, also took place under the sign of aesthetics and artistic incarnations. At the end of the article, the importance of the concept of nature for the modern world living in the era of global change is discussed.