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The Unity of Nature: Deconstructing a Contemporary Environmental Metanarrative

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The Unity of Nature: Deconstructing a Contemporary Environmental Metanarrative University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016 University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 1999 The unity of nature: deconstructing a contemporary environmental metanarrative Alan Marshall University of Wollongong Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses University of Wollongong Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorise you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this work may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of the author. Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. A reproduction of material that is protected by copyright may be a copyright infringement. A court may impose penalties and award damages in relation to offences and infringements relating to copyright material. Higher penalties may apply, and higher damages may be awarded, for offences and infringements involving the conversion of material into digital or electronic form. Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong. Recommended Citation Marshall, Alan, The unity of nature: deconstructing a contemporary environmental metanarrative, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, , University of Wollongong, 1999. https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/2121 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] 1 THE UNITY OF NATURE: DECONSTRUCTING A CONTEMPORARY ENVIRONMENTAL METANARRATIVE. A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a PhD degree from the University of Wollongong by Alan Marshall, B.Sc. (Hons), M.Phil. 1999 The author confirms that no part of this work has been submitted for another degree ? THE UNITY OF NATURE: DECONTSTRUCTING A CONTEMPORARY ENVIRONMENTAL METANARRATIVE. by Alan Marshall ABSTRACT The Unity of Nature idea is a strong metatheoretical theme in a number of scientific and environmental fields (from ecosystems ecology, through quantum physics to environmental philosophy and ecopolitics). Why this is so is discussed. One of the prime reasons the Unity of Nature idea is adopted in these fields is to give rise to an inspiring, optimistic, socially-responsive and environmentally-friendly worldview. Why this is so is also discussed. These fields of science and environmentalism have inherited this metatheoretical theme of natural unity through an intellectual lineage that passes through many non-scientific and non-environmental fields (sociology, theology and political philosophy, for instance). Many of these non-environmental and non-scientific fields have used natural unity in a way which is in stark metaphysical and political opposition to the metaphysical and political desires of those who promulgate the unity of nature for progressive social change. The exact way this has transpired is discussed so that the various social and intellectual processes that have been at work can be examined. Such social and intellectual processes include the social construction of the Organicism Vs Mechanicism debate in ecology, the intellectual links between neo-classical economic principles and the New Sciences, the techno-scientific background of Gaia theory, and the social conservatism of ecological functionalism. After this is done, and after the ecopolitical importance of the Unity of Nature idea has been thoroughly questioned, an alternative suggestion towards a non-unity worldview is made which draws strength from contemporary developments in postmodern theory, ecological thought and ethological sstudy. CONTENTS: INTRODUCTION p4 PART A: It's All An Environmentalist Plot! CHAPTER ONE: An Introduction to the Unity of Nature Concept in the Late Twentieth Century: Unity as an Environmental Metanarrative pl5 PART B: IPs All A Bourgeois Plot! CHAPTER TWO: The Unity of Nature, Differing Ecological Sciences, and Over-Zealous Ecological Holism p30 CHAPTER THREE: Gaia: the Technocentric Embodiment of the Unity of Nature? p58 CHAPTER FOUR: The Unity of Nature: a Metanarrative of Social Conservatism? p86 CHAPTER FIVE: The Unity of Nature: Uniting the Economy with the Ecosystem? pl05 PART C: It's All A Postmodern Plot(lessness)! CHAPTER SIX: What is This Thing Called Postmodern Science? p i51 CHAPTER SEVEN: Mechanicism Vs Organicism: A False Dichotomy? p204 CHAPTER EIGHT: A(nother) Postmodern Ecology p221 SUMMARY p255 REFERENCES p266 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS p291 4 INTRODUCTION This work enters into a critique of a body of recent natural philosophical literature which is self-consciously amalgamating itself together (under various labels) in order to initiate a paradigm change in the way both science and society look at the larger world. This new way of looking at the world is via unity: everything in the living world is united. One of the major political aims of this worldview is to promote environmental friendliness. Often pronouncements about the unity of nature are heralded as being so utterly important to humanity’s ideas about itself and about nature that they have been described as being fundamental precepts within human knowledge. The very idea of nature in unity is thought to stir the blood of humans towards a kindness to the environment. It is a concept that is supposed to intellectually inspire humans; promoting within us a sense of a togetherness and belonging with the Earth. Unity is therefore something to be revered, cherished and respected. This work, however, takes a different tack. Rather than simply revering the unity of nature, this work aims to investigate the cultural milieu that has produced the , concept. While doing this I argue that the body of literature extolling this worldview of unity may well possess an internal coherence, but it is also replete with metaphysical, ethical and social connotations that may contradict the very political aims that its supporters extol. One of the manifestations of this important point is that a lot of the discussion about the unity of nature has been made in an attempt to add value to, and protect, the environment. It is my contention that the unity of nature may well devalue the environment. This is most especially the case when the unity of nature concept makes knowledge claims with regards to the nature of the terrestrial 5 However, I intend to suggest that such ecological value is undermined and overwhelmed when these ecological communities are made to submit to the unity of nature concept. Such conclusions are quite radical and l wouldn’t want to suggest that they are necessarily more than a rhetorical exercise aimed just as much at engaging the theorists of unity on some of the problems of their worldview as it is a presentation of an alternative reading. Let me acknowledge here, too, that I understand well that my particular reading of unity is almost entirely against the grain of most Unitarian thinking. But that is my point, to produce an alternative reading which prompts a response from Unitarians, in order that they defend themselves and their ideas better. If the reader is to accept my reading of unitarianism, then they might find that the potential malevolency of the unity of nature concept does not stop in the realm of the ecological; it is also apparent in the realm of the social. The unity of nature concept does not just exist on its own as an independent idea. It has a whole attendant army of supporting concepts, narratives and metaphors which it feeds from and feeds into; for example unity has attachments to the concepts of balance, order, hierarchy, stability, organicism, and the system. In this work, these companion concepts are filtered out of the unity of nature concept and then, one by one, deconstructed so as to show their potential social malevolence. In the end I surmise that the concept of the System may be the most entrenched and lethal of these companion concepts. If it is held that the unity of nature concept might be an inappropriate metanarrative given the character of its late Twentieth Century intellectual expression, then we might reasonably ask what would be a more appropriate ecological narrative? The answer to this, as it applies to terrestrial ecological communities (most notably forest communities), is foreshadowed throughout this work but reaches its climax in * the final chapter as I enter into a discussion about a possible alternative. This alternative narrative is at least as well equipped to handle the ecopolitical metaphysics of environmentalism within the context of terrestrial ecological communities as the unity of nature concept, without needlessly inflicting the negative consequences of unitarianism upon the social and ecological world. When examining the cultural milieu surrounding the unity of nature concept, an intense investigation of humanity’s relationship with nature must ensue. Sociologists, 6 philosophers, historians, scientists, and environmentalists have all studied various aspects of humanity’s relationship with nature in an intensive way for many years now. It is from all of these disciplines that this work brings ideas. Despite this eclecticism it is still possible to locate this work within a certain disciplinary perspective: it is a piece of work that forges out an articulation between the social and cultural study of science and technology and the social and cultural study of the environment (STS and Environmental Studies, respectively), especially with regards to the way that both of these fields may reflect upon grand metaphysical issues in science and environmentalism. This means that studnets of the culture of environmentalism and students of the culture of science would probably be in the best position to appreciate the nuances explored.
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