The Unity of Nature

Download or read book The Unity of Nature written by Alan Marshall and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2002-10-04 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 ThoughtIt's All a Bourgeois Plot!:Falling into Wholes: Ecological FascismGaia: The Technocentric Embodiment of the Unity of Nature?Natural Conservatism: The Unity of Nature and Social SystemsUniting the Ecosystem with the EconomyIt'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.