"Ecology is the entire science of the relations of the organism to the surrounding exterior world, to which relations we can count onthe broader sense all of the conditions of existence. These are partly of organic, partly of inorganic nature... It is the "household' of nature." - Ernst Haeckel, 1869, inventing and defining the word "ecology".
Ecology is the study of the interactions of living organisms with their environment. The Greek root of the word, and the basis for Haeckel's analogy above, is οἶκος (oikos), which means house or dwelling-place. Ecology simply means "knowledge of the house". One core goal of ecology is to understand the distribution and abundance of living things in the physical environment.
The open textbook these quotes come from is worth reading. Some sections particularly relevant to ecology include:
The German zoologist Ernst Haeckel coined the word “ecology” in the nineteenth century to describe the study of “all those complex mutual relationships” in nature that “Darwin has shown are the conditions of the struggle for existence.
... the science of ecology studies all the interactions among livings beings and their environment, whether we humans are involved or not… Ecology is the study of patterns, networks, balances, and cycles rather than the straightforward causes and effects studied in physics and chemistry. The goal of ecology is to understand the functioning of whole living systems, not simply to break them down into component parts for analysis.”
(Callenbach, Ecology: A pocket guide, 1998)
The scientific study of the processes influencing the distribution and abundance of organisms, the interactions among organisms, and the interactions between organisms and the transformation and flux of energy and matter.
There are 3 perspectives determining the human-nature relationship. Shallow Ecology, Deep Ecology and Reverential Ecology. Shallow Ecology considers nature conservation vital for its useful to humans. It’s an anthropocentric, or a human-centred world view. Humans take care of the environment; of the animals, the oceans, the rivers and the forests, so that they can benefit from nature for a long time to come. Shallow ecologists desire a sustainable future for humanity and nature for them is a “resource” for the economy. For the advocates of Deep Ecology, nature has intrinsic value. Nature is not a resource for the economy but is the source of life itself.
Reverential Ecology adds an extra dimension of profound feelings of reverence towards all life. Reverential Ecology operates upon the principle that all natural things are holy-possessing the divine, not as a transcendent presence but rather as an immanent one. In place of controlling, owning or possessing, mankind participates in the process of the intricately woven web of life, acting no longer as masters or stewards of the earth; rather as participants and co-creators of the earth.
Comment:We do not think of 'Reverential Ecology' as distinct from deep ecology or pantheism.
Selves can fall off the edge of survivability. Selves accumulate the constrained traits that enable them to reduce the likelihood of falling off the edge. ...
Some assume that evolution programs us but this is problematic. Biologists often remind us that evolution by natural selection has no aims. Natural selection is sometimes used to describe the overall evolutionary process. More accurately, it's the process of elimination that results from populations expanding exponentially when resouces are limited. As the latter, it is one of Darwin's three principles, the other two being heritability and variation.
Selection is a notoriously distracting term for the process of elimination elimination since only selves select to suit their aims and natural selection is not a self. ...
The beginning of time is the beginning of differential durability, some things lasting longer than others. Differential durability can seem like evolution. If one galaxy lasts longer than another, one might try to claim that this is the equivalent of Darwinian survival of the fittest under natural selection.
It is not. Rocks form and dissolve at different rates under different conditions, but that doesn't mean rocks evolve. Molecules form and split at different rates, but that doesn't mean that chemicals evolve. This creates a serious problem for the popular intrepretation of evolution as reducible to the differential durability of DNA molecules, and, indeed, for any model that suggests that life starts when molecules begin copying.
Only with selves does relative endurance become differential survival and reproductive success in Darwin's struggle for existence. Only selves struggle to survive and reproduce prolifically.
And the priority is survival, not reproduction. A self must endure the same natural law tendencies that erode the rocks and molecules. It must engage in ongoing self-repair: the healing, replenishing, and replacing that occurs in a body throughout a self's existence.
Neither Ghost Nor Machine, by Jeremy Sherman
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