Ecology Revisited: Reflecting on Concepts, Advancing Science

As concerns about humankind’s relationship with the environment move inexorably up the agenda, this volume tells the story of the history of the concept of ecology itself and adds much to the historical and philosophical debate over this multifaceted discipline. The text provides readers with an overview of the theoretical, institutional and historical formation of ecological knowledge. The varied local conditions of early ecology are considered in detail, while epistemological problems that lie on the borders of ecology, such as disunity and complexity, are discussed. The book traces the various phases of the history of the concept of ecology itself, from its 19th century origins and antecedents, through the emergence of the environmental movement in the later 20th century, to the future, and how ecology might be located in the environmental science framework of the 21st century. The study of ‘ecological’ phenomena has never been confined solely to the work of researchers who consider themselves ecologists. It is rather a field of knowledge in which a plurality of practices, concepts and theories are developed. Thus, there exist numerous disciplinary subdivisions and research programmes within the field, the boundaries of which remain blurred. As a consequence, the deliberation to adequately identify the ecological field of knowledge, its epistemic and institutional setting, is still going on. This will be of central importance not only in locating ecology in the frame of 21st century environmental sciences but also for a better understanding of how nature and culture are intertwined in debates about pressing problems, such as climate change, the protection of species diversity, or the management of renewable resources.

Table of Contents:
1. Why Write a Handbook of Ecological Concepts? A. Schwarz, K. Jax 2, Structure of the Handbook; K. Jax, A. Schwarz 3. History of Concepts for Ecology; A. Schwarz 4. Multifaceted Ecology Between Organicism, Emergentism and Reductionism; D. Bergandi 5. The Classical Holism-Reductionism Debate in Ecology; L. Trepl, A. Voigt 6. Conceptualizing the Heterogeneity, Embeddedness, and Ongoing Restructuring That Make Ecological Complexity ‘Unruly’; P. Taylor 7. A Few Theses Regarding the Inner Structure of Ecology; G. Wiegleb 8. Dynamics in the Formation of Ecological Knowledge; A. Schwarz 9. Etymology and Original Sources of the Term “Ecology”; A. Schwarz, K. Jax 10. The Early Period of Word and Concept Formation; K. Jax, A. Schwarz 11. Competing Terms; K. Jax, A. Schwarz 12. Stabilizing a Concept; K. Jax 13. Formation of Scientific Societies; K. Jax 14. The Fundamental Subdivisions of Ecology; K. Jax, A. Schwarz 15. The Rise of Systems Theory in Ecology; A. Voigt 16. Ecology and the Environmental Movement; A. Jamison 17. Ecology and Biodiversity at the Beginning of the Twenty-first Century: Towards a New Paradigm? P. Blandin 18. An Ecosystem View into the Twenty-first Century; W. Haber 19. Early Ecology in the German-Speaking World Through WWII; A. Schwarz, K. Jax 20. The History of Early British and US-American Ecology to 1950; R. McIntosh 21. The French Tradition in Ecology: 1820–1950; P. Matagne 22. Early History of Ecology in Spain, 1868–1936; S. Casado 23. Plant Community,Plantesamfund; P. Anker 24. Looking at Russian Ecology through the Biosphere Theory; G.S. Levit 25. Geography as Ecology; G. Hard 26. Border Zones of Ecology and the Applied Sciences; Y. Haila 27. Border Zones of Ecology and Systems Theory; E. Becker,  B. Breckling 28. Economy, Ecology and Sustainability; J.M. Gowdy Picture Credits Glossary Author Biography Author Index Subject Index