How Nature Speaks: The Dynamics of the Human Ecological Condition (New Ecologies for the Twenty-First Century)

Groundbreaking collection contends that humans must establish communication with the rest of nature and a mutually nurturing relationship that builds on nature’s presence in all human practices. 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, Yrjö Haila, Ari Jokinen, Ville Lähde, Markus Laine, Iordanis Marcoulatos, John O’Neill, Susan Oyama, Taru Peltola, Lasse Peltonen, John Shotter, Peter Taylor Introduction: What to say about nature's "speech" / Yrjö Haila and Chuck Dyke -- Speaking of nature / Susan Oyama -- Natural speech : a hoary story / Chuck Dyke -- Gardens, climate changes, and cultures : an exploration into the historical nature of environmental problems / Ville Löhde -- Participative thinking : "seeing the face" and "hearing the voice" of nature / John Shotter -- Rethinking intentionality : a bourdieuian perspective / Iordanis Marcoulatos -- Fluids on the move : an analogical account of environmental mobilization / Lasse Peltonen -- Fight over the face of Tampere : a sneaking transformation of a local political field / Markus Laine -- Stand/ardization and entrainment in forest management / Ari Jokinen -- Calculating the futures : stability and change in a local energy production system / Taru Peltola -- Exploring themes about social agency through interpretation of diagrams of nature and society / Peter Taylor -- Who speaks for nature? / John O'Neill