Too Smart for Our Own Good The Ecological Predicament of Humankind

About this book

We are destroying our natural environment at an increasing pace, and undermining the preconditions of our own existence. This book reveals that our ecologically disruptive behaviour is rooted in our nature as a species.

Drawing on evolution theory, biology, anthropology, archaeology, economics, environmental science and history, this book explains our ecological predicament by placing it in the context of the first scientific theory of humankind's development, taking over where Darwin left off. The theory presented is applied to our seven-million-year history.

Due to its extensiveness, its glossary and index, this book functions as a compact encyclopedia covering the whole development of Homo sapiens. It would also suit many courses in the life and social sciences.

Contents

Preface; Introduction; 1. Scientific ground rules; 2. The new views in anthropology, archaeology and economics; 3. Theoretical background to the vicious circle principle; 4. The vicious circle principle of the development of humankind; 5. The development of humankind; 6. The vicious circle today; 7. ... and too dumb to change; Conclusion; Notes; References; Glossary; Name index.

Customer Reviews

Biography

Craig Dilworth, born and raised in Canada, received his PhD in Sweden in 1981. He is presently Reader in Theoretical Philosophy at Uppsala University. While he is fundamentally a philosopher, Dilworth is at the same time a true generalist. He has been engaged in a wide variety of environmental projects on the local level, while at the same time developing his intellectual interests in the philosophy of science, human ecology, theoretical physics, theoretical biology, and the social sciences. He is the author of two major works in the philosophy of science, Scientific Progress and The Metaphysics of Science, and an earlier book in environmental science, Sustainable Development and Decision Making. He has spent the past 15 years researching the present book.