How nature speaks : the dynamics of the human ecological condition
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
How nature speaks : the dynamics of the human ecological condition
（New ecologies for the twenty-first century）
Duke University Press, 2006
- : pbk
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [303]-320) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
How Nature Speaks illustrates the convergence of complexity theory in the biophysical and social sciences and the implications of the science of complexity for environmental politics and practice. This collection of essays focuses on uncertainty, surprise, and positionality-situated rather than absolute knowledge-in studies of nature by people embedded within the very thing they purport to study from the outside. The contributors address the complicated relationship between scientists and nature as part of a broader reassessment of how we conceive of ourselves, knowledge, and the world that we both inhabit and shape.Exploring ways of conceiving the complexity and multiplicity of humans' many interactive relationships with the environment, the contributors provide in-depth case studies of the interweaving of culture and nature in socio-historical processes. The case studies focus on the origin of environmental movements, the politicization of environmental issues in city politics, the development of a local energy production system, and the convergence of forest management practices toward a dominant scheme. They are supported by explorations of big-picture issues: recurring themes in studies of social and environmental dynamics, the difficulties of deliberative democracy, and the potential gains for socio-ecological research offered by developmental systems theory and Pierre Bourdieu's theory of intentionality.
How Nature Speaks includes a helpful primer, "On Thinking Dynamically about the Human Ecological Condition," which explains the basic principles of complexity and nonlinear thinking.
Contributors. Chuck Dyke, Yrjoe Haila, Ari Jokinen, Ville Lahde, Markus Laine, Iordanis Marcoulatos, John O'Neill, Susan Oyama, Taru Peltola, Lasse Peltonen, John Shotter, Peter Taylor
Table of Contents
Preface vii
ntroduction: What to Say about Nature's "Speech" / Yrjo Haila and Chuck Dyke 1
Speaking of Nature / Susan Oyama 49
Natural Speech: A Hoary Story / Chuck Dyke 66
Gardens, Climate Changes, and Cultures: An Exploration into the Historical Nature of Environmental Problems / Ville Lahde 78
Participative Thinking: "Seeing the Face" and "Hearing the Voice" of Nature / John Shotter 106
Rethinking Intentionality: A Bourdieuian Perspective/ Iordanis Marcoulatos 127
Fluids on the Move: An Analogical Account of Environmental Mobilization / Lasse Peltonen 150
Fight Over the Face of Tampere: A Sneaking Transformation of a Local Political Field / Markus Laine 177
Stand/ardization and Entrainment in Forest Management / Ari Jokinen 198
Calculating the Futures: Stability and Change in a Local Energy Production System / Taru Peltola 218
Exploring Themes about Social Agency through Interpretation of Diagrams of Nature and Society / Peter Taylor 235
Who Speaks for Nature? / John O'Neill 261
Appendix: Primer: On Thinking Dynamically about the Human Ecological Condition / Chuck Dyke 279
References 303
Notes on Contributors 323
Index 325
by "Nielsen BookData"