Abstract
This essay addresses the question of blending natural history and ecological wisdom into the genuine creativity exemplified by Prof. Ramon Margalef. Many have observed that modern biology is a triumph of precision over accuracy, and that ecology has sought maturity by striving toward this model in which the precision value of the tools has supplanted important questions. In pursuing a model of hard science, ecology has struggled with Popperian approaches designed to create a thin patina of real science over the vast seas of uncertainty so admired by the naturalists. We start with a discussion of the importance of natural history in ecology and conservation, and the present state of natural history in academic ecology. We then discuss the respect for natural history in human cultures, and conclude that an infatuation with authority has obfuscated the important truths to be found in nature. We consider some general processes associated with creativity, and finally we ask how natural history influences creativity in ecology. We conclude that the soaring creativity exemplified by Ramon Margalef is based on a joyful almost spiritual understanding of natural history and the courage to avoid authority.
Highlights
To better understand what we are losing by dismissing natural history, we need to explore the evolution of ecology and of science in general
Wilson (1998) described the structure of science correctly, but he did not define the objectives of science, especially in a way that can relate to ecology
A common problem in recent ecology is that the generalizations are based on inappropriate assumptions rather than on good natural history
Summary
People have impacted essentially all the habitats in the biosphere. There are growing societal needs for an ecological science that can correct the environmental insults and contribute to management of sustainable ecosystems. Important insights into the resolution of almost all these questions can be found in the natural history of the ecosystems, and traditional and local ecological knowledge very likely offer some of the most perceptive ideas and hypotheses. To better understand what we are losing by dismissing natural history, we need to explore the evolution of ecology and of science in general. The values are broad enough to cover almost any type of research, but while it is rarely explicitly stated, the practice of ecology is laden with rules and authorities that interpret these rules These rules tend to ignore the importance of history at all scales. The wonderful Aristotelian natural history of the classic era was largely lost or grotesquely corrupted by Christian authorities that based their concept of reality in their interpretation of the Bible. He was explicitly anti-authoritarian and defined the following stumbling blocks to comprehending the truth: 1. Beware the example of frail and unworthy authority
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