Social Constructions of the Natural World: An Essay in Phenomenological Sociology.

Abstract of "SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONS OF THE NATURAL WORLD: AN ESSAY IN PHENOMENOLOGICAL SOCIOLOGY" Annemarie Harrod and Howard Harrod This paper investigates the traditions of preservationism, conservationism, utilitarianism, and what we call touristic conceptions of the natural world based on experiences in the natural and social environments of an area of Northwest Montana over the last twenty years. Each of the traditions is operative in the perspectives and organizational activities which give rise to the value conflicts we describe in this paper. And each has a structure of meaning based upon central values that are held to be true by the participants. The participants in the various traditions believe that their views are grounded in some form of objective reality whether it is the natural world or some other principle, when, in fact, we take the position they are socially rather than metaphysically constituted. The conceptual and methodological framework for analyzing these positions is derived from Weberian verstehen tradition as it appears in the phenomenological sociology of Alfred Schutz, from grounded theory, and social constructivism. This framework provides the theoretical framework which allows one to sort through the tangle of rhetoric which the various groups generate to defend their actions and to understand how their images of the natural world differ and thus are capable of shaping action that results in conflict, cooperation, or compromise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]