A Critique for Ecology

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Paperback | 28 October 1991

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384 Pages

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22.86 x 15.24 x 2.16

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This book offers a critique of contemporary ecology, which could be applied to any discipline. Author Peters contends that science is a device to offer information about nature through predictions, but that a substantial part of ecology cannot be science because it provides no concrete information and much of the rest of ecology provides data of such poor quality that it can only be called soft science. Although instances of these deficiencies have often been identified, the pervasiveness of the problem has not been fully acknowledged, nor have the similarities among different problem areas been appreciated. If ecology and environmental science are to grow to meet the needs of the present decade and next millennium, scientists in these fields will need much more acute critical abilities than they have yet demonstrated. Professor Peters argues specifically that a return to simple questions of fact, to observations, and to questions of general relevance to science and society can make ecology a useful, practical, and informative science, which is desperately needed to meet the problems of our age. This thought-provoking and perhaps controversial book will be of particular interest to ecologists, but all scientists, from undergraduates to senior academics and professionals, can benefit from reading it.

Industry Reviews

'To conclude, despite the hurt feelings this book might engender, it should be read by all ecologists and especially students contemplating a career in ecology. Like it or not Peters scores some good points and we better not ignore them.' Gerard J. Fitzgerald, Ethology, Ecology and Evolution

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Preface	p. xi
Crisis in ecology	p. 1
Some preliminary disclaimers	p. 2
Ecologists against ecology	p. 4
Sociological evidence against ecology	p. 6
Evidence from the deepening environmental crisis	p. 10
Academic ecology poses unanswerable questions	p. 13
Summary--Scientific growth depends on scientific criticism	p. 14
Criteria	p. 17
By definition and example: logic, science and theory	p. 18
Hypothetico-deductive science	p. 21
Criteria for judging scientific theories	p. 26
Summary--A hierarchy of scientific criteria	p. 36
Tautology	p. 38
Tautologies and deductive tools	p. 38
The principle of evolution by natural selection	p. 60
Summary--Two tools for two jobs	p. 73
Operationalization of terms and concepts	p. 74
Operationalization of concepts	p. 76
Typologies and classifications	p. 80
Conceptual variables--stability and diversity	p. 92
Non-operational relationships	p. 96
Atheoretical concepts	p. 97
Concepts in ecology: the effects of poor examples	p. 100
Summary--The costs of non-operational concepts for ecology	p. 104
Explanatory science: reduction, cause and mechanism	p. 105
Prediction and explanation: alternate goals for science	p. 106
Reductionism: an unattainable goal	p. 110
Causality	p. 128
Instrumentalist research	p. 136
Summary--The twin perils of mechanistic and causal explanations	p. 146
Historical explanation and understanding	p. 147
Scientific explanation and understanding	p. 147
Historical explanations and ecology	p. 154
Legitimate roles for historical understanding in ecology	p. 170
Summary--Explanations in ecology	p. 176
Weak predictions	p. 178
Relevance	p. 178
Accuracy	p. 189
Imprecise and qualitative predictions	p. 196
Generality and specificity	p. 211
Economy	p. 216
Appeal	p. 218
Summary--Practicality and appeal	p. 219
Checklist of problems	p. 220
The Introduction	p. 221
Methods	p. 229
Results	p. 235
Discussion	p. 239
Extensions and hypotheses	p. 250
Summary--The challenge of good science	p. 254
Putting it together--competition	p. 256
The prevalence of competition	p. 257
Operationalization	p. 259
Tautology	p. 263
Historical explanation	p. 266
Mechanisms of competition	p. 268
The theoretical status of 'competition theory'	p. 270
Summary--The muddles of ecology	p. 273
Predictive ecology	p. 274
Eight classes of model theories in predictive ecology	p. 274
The attractions of predictive ecology	p. 290
Summary--A scientific alternative for ecology	p. 304
References	p. 305
Index of names and first authors	p. 345
Subject index	p. 352
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

A Critique for Ecology

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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