Nature's Holism

by Evans, Laurence

• ISBN13: 9781583482919
• ISBN10: 1583482911
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2000-04-01
• Publisher: Iuniverse Inc

Author Biography

Laurence Evans is a shrimp farmer in South Africa. Born in Zambia in 1960, he moved with his parents to South Africa in 1970. He studied marine biology at the University of Cape Town and then started a career in aquaculture. As a keen ecologist and an aspiring science writer, Nature's Holism is his first effort.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Background	p. 1
What is Nature's Holism about?	p. 2
Perpetuity	p. 2
Compatibility	p. 3
Ecotechnology in brief	p. 3
Biodiversity Studies?	p. 4
Perpetuity and Compatibility	p. 7
Mutual dependence	p. 7
Yin and Yang	p. 10
Holism	p. 11
Ecotechnology	p. 11
Niche	p. 13
Atomic Nature	p. 15
Paradigms	p. 17
Background Ideas	p. 25
Context	p. 25
Patterns and Models	p. 26
Teleology	p. 29
Expressions of holism	p. 30
Personal note	p. 35
A synopsis of Nature's Holism	p. 39
Evolution	p. 45
A Brief History of Life As "The Book of Time"	p. 45
Time and evolution	p. 47
Evolution: A Quick Overview	p. 49
Table of The Geological Time Scale	p. 58
Gems	p. 65
A Brief Introduction	p. 65
Thomas Hobbes	p. 65
General J.C. Smuts	p. 66
Charles Darwin	p. 67
Immanuel Kant	p. 67
Thomas Hobbes	p. 68
Hobbes's Derivation of Natural Law And Thus Moral Philosophy	p. 72
General J.C. Smuts	p. 76
Science	p. 76
Reality and Rationality	p. 82
Charles Darwin	p. 91
Immanuel Kant	p. 107
Gaia Hijacked by New Agers	p. 107
Kant's Teleology Versus Goldsmith's Teleology	p. 109
Kantist Teleology and Ecology	p. 116
Creationism	p. 122
Interaction of Lovelock's Gaia and Holism	p. 127
Law, Rules, and Regularities	p. 131
Theories	p. 136
Paradigm Traps	p. 143
Prisoner's Dilemma	p. 149
Chaos, Complexity and Ecosystems	p. 153
Summary	p. 154
Approximations of Reality	p. 156
Chaos	p. 158
x(next) = rx(1-x)	p. 160
Edge of Chaos	p. 165
Chaos in nature	p. 168
Table X: Factors affecting carrying capacities	p. 169
Chaos in business	p. 171
Complexity	p. 172
The Concept, once bitten, twice shy	p. 181
Summary	p. 182
Paradigms	p. 183
Dominion	p. 183
Reductionist Infinity	p. 183
Laboratory Experimentation and Generalisations From Specialisations	p. 184
The Domination of Concepts Or Modern Paradigms	p. 184
Competition	p. 184
Game Theory	p. 185
Emphasis Upon Applied Science and Technology	p. 185
Argument	p. 188
Logistic Model	p. 188
The "Window of Opportunity" in the Melv Model	p. 190
Interpretation of the Paleontological Record in the Light of Compatibility	p. 192
Introduction	p. 193
Ecology and Ecosystems	p. 194
The Coin: the Theory of Co-operation	p. 200
Genetics and Inheritance	p. 201
Genetics, Ecology and Evolution	p. 209
Paradigms of Biological Science	p. 214
Dominion and Exploitation	p. 216
Reductionist Infinity	p. 218
Laboratory Experimentation and Generalisations From Specialisations	p. 223
The Domination of Concepts Or Modern Paradigms	p. 226
Competition	p. 226
Game Theory	p. 234
Anthropomorphism and Gaian Purpose	p. 239
Emphasis Upon Applied Science and Technology	p. 239
Argument	p. 241
Ecological Interactions: Modelling Compatibility	p. 271
Logistic Model	p. 273
Group Selection	p. 280
The "Window of Opportunity" in Nature	p. 282
Further Model Development	p. 286
Theoretical Development	p. 286
Examples of Standard Models	p. 298
Interpretation of the Paleontological Record in the Light of the Modified Energetic Lotka Volterre Model	p. 306
Positive Holism	p. 310
Human Evolution	p. 311
Summary	p. 312
Sources	p. 318
Dating Tools	p. 322
Human Evolution	p. 325
Behaviour and Morality	p. 328
Primate Evolution	p. 331
Australopithecus	p. 337
Homo Hablis and Homo Erectus	p. 349
Neanderthals	p. 360
Homo Sapiens	p. 363
The Road to Civilisation	p. 371
Modern Cultures	p. 371
Hunter gatherers	p. 372
Agriculture	p. 377
Civilisation	p. 379
Technological and Industrial Society	p. 387
Modern Society	p. 392
Religion	p. 393
Islam	p. 394
Rise and Demise of Natural Christian Theology	p. 395
Glossary	p. 399
References	p. 441
Index	p. 457
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