Bloomsbury General Ecology: The New Ecological Paradigm (Theory in the New Humanities)

About the Author Erich Hörl is a philosopher and cultural theorist. He is professor of Media Culture at the Institute of Culture and Aesthetics of Digital Media (ICAM) at Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany.James Burton is a lecturer in Cultural Studies and Cultural History at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is the author of The Philosophy of Science Fiction (Bloomsbury, 2015). Product Description Ecology has become one of the most urgent and lively fields in both the humanities and sciences. In a dramatic widening of scope beyond its original concern with the coexistence of living organisms within a natural environment, it is now recognized that there are ecologies of mind, information, sensation, perception, power, participation, media, behavior, belonging, values, the social, the political… a thousand ecologies. This proliferation is not simply a metaphorical extension of the figurative potential of natural ecology: rather, it reflects the thoroughgoing imbrication of natural and technological elements in the constitution of the contemporary environments we inhabit, the rise of a cybernetic natural state, with its corresponding mode of power. Hence this ecology of ecologies initiates and demands that we go beyond the specificity of any particular ecology: a general thinking of ecology which may also constitute an ecological transformation of thought itself is required. In this ambitious and radical new volume of writings, some of the most exciting contemporary thinkers in the field take on the task of revealing and theorizing the extent of the ecologization of existence as the effect of our contemporary sociotechnological condition: together, they bring out the complexity and urgency of the challenge of ecological thought―one we cannot avoid if we want to ask and indeed have a chance of affecting what forms of life, agency, modes of existence, human or otherwise, will participate―and how―in this planet’s future. Review Proponents of the philosophy called "deep ecology" view humans as one of the many integral components of the biosphere. They do not place humans above or outside the rest of nature. Rather humans are considered a natural constituent that modifies nature according to cultural and economic value systems. This book does not explain the principles of ecology in a traditional scientific manner. In contrast, the various chapter authors describe ecology from a deep ecology philosophical perspective. The first chapter begins with an essay on how societal interpretations of ecology vary between cultures and change over time as cultures develop economically and philosophically. This is followed by a diverse array of essays on the influence of computational logic, economics, politics, popular literature, prevailing social norms, religion, and technology on setting a paradigm for conceptualizing ecology. All of these perspectives are used to explain how current environmental issues, such as extinction, are valued by society. Plus, the contributors exactingly prognosticate the influence of the Anthropocene epoch on the natural processes of the Earth. The content and readability targets an audience well versed in bioethics and philosophy. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above; faculty and professionals." - CHOICEBecause digital mediation has permeated every aspect of life, economy and culture in our techno-scientific societies, we need to learn to think differently about ourselves. In this remarkable collection Erich Horl makes a powerful case for shifting our theoretical horizons away from disciplinary distinctions between Media studies, Literary and Cultural studies towards a more integrated approach: a new general ecology replaces the obsolete distinction between natural and social environments and calls for a multi-layered relational approach to sustainable futures. - Rosi Braidotti, Professor of the Humanities, Utrecht University, The NetherlandsA brilliant