The Philosophy of Ecology: From Science to Synthesis

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 392 pages
• Published by: University of Georgia Press October 20, 2000
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0820322202
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0820322209
• Book Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Weighs: 1.3 pounds

Product Description
We look to ecologists for many things, from accurate descriptions of natural systems to guidance on our proper relationships to them. Yet ecologists often disagree on matters that affect their own field's basic philosophical underpinnings. This international gathering of twenty-three seminal readings both illustrates the range of philosophical approaches available to ecologists and provides a basis for understanding the thinking on which many of today's environmental ideas are founded.

Opening with a general introduction to the challenges of defining scientific ecology, tracing its genealogy, and distinguishing the science from various forms of "ecological-like" thinking, the volume is organized into thematic sections. Issues covered include the ontology of ecological entities and processes; selected concepts of community, stability, diversity, and niche; the methodology of ecology (rationalism and empiricism, reductionism and holism); and the significance of evolutionary law for ecological science.

This is the first introductory anthology on the philosophy of ecology edited by an ecologist and a philosopher. It makes a powerful statement on the value of ecological knowledge and thinking in alleviating the many problems of modern industrial civilization.

About The Author
David R. Keller is an assistant professor of philosophy and director of the Center for the Study of Ethics at Utah Valley State College.

Frank B. Golley is Research Professor of Ecology, professor of zoology, and professor of environmental design at the University of Georgia. His books include A Primer for Environmental Literacy, A History of the Ecosystem Concept, and Tropical Rainforest Systems. Contributors T. F. H. Allen Donato Bergandi Frederic Clements James Collins Henry Gleason Stephen Gould David Hull Simon Levin Richard Levins Richard Lewontin Craig Loehle Robert May Ernst Mayr Earl McCoy Karl Mobius Eugene Odum Ruth Patrick Joseph Pechmann Stuart Pimm Karl Popper Andrew Redfearn Richard Root Thomas Schoener Kristin Shrader-Frechette Daniel Simberloff Thomas Starr Arthur Tansley Robert Ulanowicz Robert Whittaker

Reader Reviews
It may come as a surprise to many who first encounter this book that the science of ecology might have anything to contribute to philosophy in general -- this, despite the fact that popular notions of ecology are in the forefront of the search for new directions, be they in the guise of the "Deep Ecology" of Arne Naess, or the "Web of Life" advanced by Frijthof Capra. But scientific perspectives unique to ecology are arising, and making connections between ecological outlooks and how nature generally is perceived is the primary goal of this book -- as stated in its subtitle. No dominant ecological perspective has yet emerged, but Keller and Golley do an excellent job of sampling the various issues. For example, Part One includes five papers that take sides on whether one should emphasize the entities in ecosystems (the Eleatic approach) or concentrate on the processes that are occurring (the Milesian stance.) Part Three presents the debate between the rational and the empirical approaches to ecology; Part Four between reductionism and holism; and the final section gives consideration to what ties (if any) should exist between contemporary evolutionary theory and ecosystems science. I have used the volume (in early manuscript form) as the primary text for a graduate seminar I taught last year on "Philosophical Issues in Ecology" at the University of Maryland. Most students in the seminar were amazed to discover that philosophical issues have a history within the scientific practice of ecology, and they found the chapters of the book to be well- chosen illustrations of the various attitudes now vying for a permanent place in the evolving philosophy of ecology. I was quite impressed by how the editors were able to winnow down the component papers to their most essential elements and by how the publisher was able to put this volume on the street at a price that is affordable to the typical graduate student. I foresee a significant potential for this compendium as a textbook and as a catalyst for initiating productive debate on issues that address not only ancient philosophical abstractions, but affect our attitudes towards urgent contemporary problems as well.