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THE UNITY OF NATURE
Wholeness and Disintegration in Ecology and Science
by Alan Marshall (University of Nizhni Novgorod, Russia)
The idea behind The Unity of Nature is a strong theoretical theme in a number of scientific and environmental fields from ecosystems ecology, through quantum physics to environmental philosophy and ecopolitics giving rise to an inspiring, optimistic, socially-responsive and environment-friendly worldview. The fields of science and environmentalism have inherited this theme of natural unity through an intellectual lineage that encompasses many non-scientific and non-environmental fields such as sociology, theology and political philosophy. Many of these fields have used natural unity in a way which is in stark opposition to the metaphysical and political desires of those who promulgate the unity of nature for progressive social change.
This book discusses how this has transpired and examines the social and intellectual processes that have been at work. These include the social construction of the Organicism versus Mechanicism debate in ecology, the intellectual links between neo-classical economic principles and the 'New Sciences', the techno-scientific background of Gaia theory, and the social conservatism of ecological functionalism.
Contents:
- It's All an Environmentalist Plot!:
- Unity as an
Environmental Idea: An Introduction to the Unity of Nature in Contemporary Thought
- It's All a Bourgeois Plot!:
- Falling into Wholes: Ecological Fascism
- Gaia: The Technocentric Embodiment of the Unity of Nature?
- Natural Conservatism: The Unity of Nature and Social Systems
- Uniting the Ecosystem with the Economy
- It's All a Postmodern Plot(lessness)!:
- What is This Thing Called Postmodern Science?
- Mechanicism vs Organicism: A False Dichotomy?
- An (Other) Postmodern Ecology
Readership: Scientists, historians of science, environmentalists, and social
scientists.
| 288pp |
Pub. date: Oct 2002 |
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Copyright © 2009 Imperial College Press. All rights reserved.
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