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Systems theory and skeptical humanism in French ecological thought

Authors :
Whiteside, Kerry H.
Source :
Policy Studies Journal. Winter 1998, Vol. 26 Issue 4, p636, 2 p.
Publication Year :
1998

Abstract

In systems theory, nature appears as an intricate interweaving of homeostatic processes - processes that mankind disrupts at its own peril. For many non-French ecologists, only respecting nature's 'intrinsic value' will avert catastrophe. Such reasoning is rare in France. In its place, theorists like Edgar Morin and Michel Serres promote a systems-inspired ecologism that skirts the problematic dualism of nature and humanity by questioning skeptically how we understand both the world and ourselves.<br />'The age of a finite earth has begun,' declares one of France's leading green theorists, Alain Lipietz (1989, p. 61). For the physicist-historian Jean-Paul Deleage (1992, p. 2), this means [...]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
0190292X
Volume :
26
Issue :
4
Database :
Gale General OneFile
Journal :
Policy Studies Journal
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsgcl.54258669