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"Biophilia" is the term coined by Edward O. Wilson to describe what he believes is humanity's innate affinity for the natural world. In his landmark book Biophilia, he examined how our tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes might be a biologically based need, integral to our development as individuals and as a species. That idea has caught the imagination of diverse thinkers.The Biophilia Hypothesis brings together the views of some of the most creative scientists of our time, each attempting to amplify and refine the concept of biophilia. The variety of perspectives -- psychological, biological, cultural, symbolic, and aesthetic -- frame the theoretical issues by presenting empirical evidence that supports or refutes the hypothesis. Numerous examples illustrate the idea that biophilia and its converse, biophobia, have a genetic component: fear, and even full-blown phobias of snakes and spiders are quick to develop with very little negative reinforcement, while more threatening modern artifacts -- knives, guns, automobiles -- rarely elicit such a response people find trees that are climbable and have a broad, umbrella-like canopy more attractive than trees without these characteristics people would rather look at water, green vegetation, or flowers than built structures of glass and concrete The biophilia hypothesis, if substantiated, provides a powerful argument for the conservation of biological diversity. More important, it implies serious consequences for our well-being as society becomes further estranged from the natural world. Relentless environmental destruction could have a significant impact on our quality of life, not just materially but psychologically and even spiritually

Darwin's Bridge: Uniting the Humanities and Sciences explores the meaning of consilience and considers the unity of human evolution, human nature, social dynamics, art, and narrative. Bringing together cutting-edge scientists and scholars across a range of fields of knowledge production, this volume makes it possible to see how far we have come toward unifying knowledge about the human species, what major issues are still in contention, and what areas of research are likely to produce further progress.

Enric Sala ist Meeresökologe und National Geographic Explorer-in-residence. Er ist Leiter des "Pristine Seas Project", das Meeresökosysteme erforscht und versucht diese zu bewahren, indem sie Staatsoberhäupter*innen von ihrer Wichtigkeit und Schönheit überzeugen. In "Die Natur der Natur" erläutert Sala zuerst was ein Ökosystem ist und dessen Reifestadien. Anschliessend klärt er über Gründer- und Schlüsselarten auf; diese Arten erfüllen unterschiedliche Aufgaben innerhalb des Systems, sind jedoch beide für dieses überlebenswichtig. Abschliessend zeigt Sala auf, welche enormen Veränderungen die Menschheit in der Natur erwirkt hat, wie dies überhaupt möglich war und welche gravierenden Auswirkungen das hat (u.a. Ausrottung von Tieren, Begradigungen von Flüssen, Überfischung, Korallensterben, Naturkatastrophen). Sala schreibt allgemeinverständlich, unterstützt durch Anekdoten oder Beispiele. Sein Fazit: ein gesundes, diverses Ökosystem ist ökologisch und ökonomisch wertvoller und nachhaltiger als Monokulturen und der schnelle Gewinn. Mit Literaturverzeichnis. - Wichtiges, aktuelles Thema. Breit empfohlen!

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- INTRODUCTION -- Part I. Epistemology after Darwin -- Introduction -- The Principles of Psychology -- The Gay Science -- The Evolution of Self- Consciousness -- The Fixation of Belief -- Great Men, Great Thoughts, and the Environment -- The Influence of Darwinism on Philosophy -- Part II. Ethics after Darwin -- Introduction -- The Descent of Man -- The Data of Ethics -- The Challenge of Facts -- The Gospel of Wealth -- Socialism -- Mutual Aid -- Human Progress: Past and Future -- The Right to Make War -- The Call of the Wild -- Principia Ethica: Naturalistic Ethics -- Evolution and Ethics -- Part III. The Evolution of Ideas -- Introduction -- Darwinism as a Metaphysical Research Programme -- The Structure of Scientific Revolutions -- The Evolutionary Development of Natural Science -- Memes and the Exploitation of Imagination -- Three Challenges for the Survival of Memetics -- Altruism in Science: A Sociobiological Model of Cooperative Behavior among Scientists -- Why Reason Can't Be Naturalized: Evolutionary Epistemology -- Part IV. The Evolution of Rationality -- Introduction -- Kant's Doctrine of the A Priori in the Light of Contemporary Biology -- The View from Somewhere: A Critical Defense of Evolutionary Epistemology -- How the Mind Works -- Evolution, Thinking, and Rationality -- The Evolutionary Argument against Naturalism: An Initial Statement of the Argument -- Darwin's Doubt, Calvin's Calvary -- Part V. Ethics and Progress -- Introduction -- On Human Nature -- A Darwinian Left: Politics, Evolution, and Cooperation -- Darwinian Conservatism -- Moral Philosophy as Applied Science -- Four Ways of "Biologicizing" Ethics -- A Defense of Evolutionary Ethics -- Part VI. The Evolution of Altruism -- Introduction -- The Liver and the Moral Organ -- Unto Others -- Is Human Morality Innate? -- Game Theory in Evolutionary Biology -- Ethics and Intuitions -- Evolution and Ethics: The Sociobiological Approach -- The Darwinian Moral Sense and Biblical Religion -- Thomistic Natural Law and the Limits of Evolutionary Psychology -- An Evolutionary Account of Evil -- Falling Up: Evolution and Original Sin -- SOURCES AND CREDITS -- FURTHER READING -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX