The Influence of Classic Sciences on Ecology and Evolution of Ecological Studies

Abstract

Contemporary citizens of the Western world increasingly are found to flee city life as often as possible, in the supposition that it is desirable to escape from crowds and seek open space, return to nature, and escape pollution. Consider the amount of automobile traffic or the many airplane flights from any major airport as indicators of the demand to travel large distances. Beyond the extraordinary abilities current transport systems give to average citizens to cover large distances in short times, modern transportation also transforms the notion of place and space in modern societies. In turn, the evolution of Western societies contributes to the changes found in inhabitants and their desires. We cannot ignore the materialism of the eighties, but we also cannot deny that over the last 30 years we have witnessed an increased awareness of the environment and the development of environmental movements. Furthermore, many political ideologies that began with the industrial era have waned over time, and the large social changes of the last century have moved people into a new sensitivity toward the environment. Words like environment, ecology, and ecosystems are commonplace in today’s vocabulary, a simple sign of the widespread gain of environmentalism. Of course, often these words are used incorrectly: a classic example is the use of the term “ecological” to describe a commercial product and guarantee its quality or safety. Conflict abounds in Western societies where economic policies are based on a constant increase in consumption. Yet, there is an awareness that these policies beget degradation of the biosphere. Where is the unitary science to inform our understanding of society and nature? Of development? Of nonanthropocentric earth studies? It does not exist. The science closest to meeting these requirements is ecology, which has only belatedly and begrudgingly been recognized in the academic sphere. Ecology—or any science that attempts to bridge the complexity of nature, economics, and human society—must break the molds of standard science, which inevitably makes it a heretical science.