Reflecting on the Experience of Environmental Epiphany in the Lives of Aldo Leopold, Thomas Hill Jr., and Albert Schweitzer

Can a very short event change one’s outlook on the natural environment? Environmental awareness can be attained through formal and non-formal education, as well as through active engagement in environmental activities. However, there were historical figures who witnessed a change in their outlooks in the blink of an eye. This article sets out to explore the impact of environmental epiphanies on humans during a human/non-human encounter by showing their role in triggering powerful emotions and a new type of awareness in the lives of three key environmentalist figures belonging to the twentieth century: Aldo Leopold, Thomas English Hill Jr., and Albert Schweitzer. The article investigates the importance of such revelatory experiences in a world of climatic challenges.