A collection of essays focusing on the implications of the sciences of complexity for environmental politics and practice

Yrjö Haila is Professor of Environmental Policy at the University of Tampere in Finland. Among his books are Humanity and Nature (with Richard Levins) and several books in Finnish.

Chuck Dyke is Professor of Philosophy at Temple University. He is the author of The Evolutionary Dynamics of Complex Systems and Through the Genetic Maze.

Preface vii
ntroduction: What to Say about Nature’s “Speech” / Yrjo Haila and Chuck Dyke 1
Speaking of Nature / Susan Oyama 49
Natural Speech: A Hoary Story / Chuck Dyke 66
Gardens, Climate Changes, and Cultures: An Exploration into the Historical Nature of Environmental Problems / Ville Lähde 78
Participative Thinking: “Seeing the Face” and “Hearing the Voice” of Nature / John Shotter 106
Rethinking Intentionality: A Bourdieuian Perspective/ Iordanis Marcoulatos 127
Fluids on the Move: An Analogical Account of Environmental Mobilization / Lasse Peltonen 150
Fight Over the Face of Tampere: A Sneaking Transformation of a Local Political Field / Markus Laine 177
Stand/ardization and Entrainment in Forest Management / Ari Jokinen 198
Calculating the Futures: Stability and Change in a Local Energy Production System / Taru Peltola 218
Exploring Themes about Social Agency through Interpretation of Diagrams of Nature and Society / Peter Taylor 235
Who Speaks for Nature? / John O’Neill 261
Appendix: Primer: On Thinking Dynamically about the Human Ecological Condition / Chuck Dyke 279
References 303
Notes on Contributors 323
Index 325