Theoretical ecology

Ecology - a bridge - review of Ecology: A Bridge Between Science and Society, by Eugene Odum. Third Edition published by Sennar Associates, Sunderland, Mass, USA, 1997.

Whatever happened to ecology? - a critique of the reductionist, mechanistic science of ecology which has turned against the living world. Written in 2002, this is a greatly extended and updated version of an article first published in The Ecologist Vol. 15 No. 3, 1985.

In praise of the "seely spider" (long version) - a review of Nature's web: an exploration of ecological thinking, by Peter Marshall. This is the unpublished extended version.

In praise of the "seely spider" (short version) - a review of Nature's Web: an exploration of ecological thinking, by Peter Marshall. Published in The Ecologist Vol. 23 No. 3, May / June 1993.

In a vernacular society economic activity is homeotelic to Gaia - chapter 56 of The Way: An Ecological World View, originally published in 1992. This text is taken from the revised and enlarged edition, University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1998.

Progress is anti-evolutionary and is the anti-Way - chapter 64 of The Way: An Ecological World View, originally published in 1992. This text is taken from the revised and enlarged edition, University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1998.

By increasing its diversity a system increases the range of environmental challenges with which it is capable of dealing - chapter 53 of The Way: An Ecological World View, originally published in 1992. This text is taken from the revised and enlarged edition, University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1998.

Increased complexity leads to greater stability - chapter 52 of The Way: An Ecological World View, originally published in 1992. This text is taken from the revised and enlarged edition, University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1998.

Gaia is the source of all benefits - chapter 34 of The Way: An Ecological World View, originally published in 1992. This text is taken from the revised and enlarged edition, University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1998.

Living things seek to understand their relationship with their environment - chapter 31 of The Way: An Ecological World View, originally published in 1992. This text is taken from the revised and enlarged edition, University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1998.

Gaia, seen as a total spatio-temporal process, is the unit of evolution - chapter 21 of The Way: An Ecological World View, originally published in 1992. This text is taken from the revised and enlarged edition, University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1998.

Ecology is a faith - chapter 16 of The Way: An Ecological World View, originally published in 1992. This text is taken from the revised and enlarged edition, University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1998.

The Way: an ecological world view - a major article setting out the key principles of ecological thinking that, four years later, developed into the book of the same name. Published in The Ecologist Vol. 18 No. 4/5 1988. "What I propose to do in this essay (if what follows can be thus termed) is to propose a very tentative world-view or cosmology in the form of a set of 67 laws or principles, which are seen as governing the Cosmos and the cosmological process ... ".

Gaia: some implications for theoretical ecology - paper for the Wadebridge Ecological Centre's Conference: "Gaia: Theory, practice and implications", Camelford, Cornwall, October 1987. It was also published in The Ecologist Vol. 18 No. 2/3, 1988.

Understanding tropical ecosystems - a review of Ecology of Tropical Plants, by Margaret L. Vickery. Published in The Ecologist Vol. 15 No. 3, 1985.

Colonising the plant world - a review of Insects on Plants: Community Patterns and Mechanisms by D. R. Strong PhD, J. H. Lawton PhD, Sir Richard Southwood PhD, DSc, FRS. Published in The Ecologist Vol. 15 No. 3, 1985. "The authors, keen to accentuate the importance of the individual components of the plant community, as opposed to that of the community itself, are necessarily committed... to accentuate the importance of competition as a determinant of what community structure they accept, and to under-playing co-operation... ".

Ecological succession rehabilitated - the science of ecology has become reductionistic, mechanistic and quantified. To achieve this has meant seeking to discredit the basic principles of ecology including that of 'ecological succession'. The motive is for this has been ideological and political, in seeking to force ecology to conform to the world view of modernism. Published in The Ecologist Vol. 15 No. 3 1985.

The unfolding of Darwin's thought - review of The development of Darwin's theory natural history, natural thology and natural selection 1838-1859, by Dov Ospovat, Cambridge University Press 1981. Published in The Ecologist Vol. 12 No. 4, July / August 1982. "The transformation in the biological thinking of the times, in which Darwin played a key role ... transformed a paradigm that was suitable for a land based aristocratic society, into one which very much better satisfied the requirements of our fast developing urban-based industrial world ... "

Ecologists in a distorting mirror - a review of Systems Ecology by H. H. Shugart and R. V. O'Neill. Goldsmith writes of "the gulf that separates professional mathematical ecologists (with a small e) from Ecologists (with a big E) such as myself who regard ecology as an approach - one that basically involves looking at problems in their total temporal and spatial context, rather than in isolation from each other as is currently the practice among most modern scientists... ". Published in The Ecologist Vol. 10 No. 1/2 January / February 1980.

Sir Frank Fraser Darling - a tribute to this great pioneer of ecology and conservation, who lived from 1903 -1979. Published in The Ecologist Vol. 9 No. 8/9, November / December 1979. "

Complexity and stability in the real world - does an ecosystem become more stable as it becomes more complex? Many do not think so. The problem, however, is that ‘stability' and ‘complexity' have never been defined. Published in The Ecologist Quarterly, Winter 1978.

Wildlife and systems theory - "Lord Zuckerman appears to regard wild animals as an amenity and nothing more. Their extermination is quite justified if this serves a higher social purpose such as combating starvation or paying for school meals ... ". Editorial article, The Ecologist Vol. 6 No. 7, August - September 1976.

The two Ecologies - published in The Ecologist Vol. 5 No. 10, December 1975. Edward Goldsmith predicts the rise of a radical 'ecological' subculture that "rejects the industrial world because of its mediocrity, its ugliness, its unnaturalness and its hypocrisy - in fact because it fails to satisfy basic social, aesthetic and spiritual needs". Intrinsic to this movement will be a rethinking of the 'scientific' method that pervades the modern world view, and the false science of 'ecology'.