Reinventing Nature?: Responses to Postmodern Deconstruction

<p>How much of science is culturally constructed? How much depends on language and metaphor? How do our ideas about nature connect with reality? Can nature be "reinvented" through theme parks and malls, or through restoration.<p>Reinventing Nature? is an interdisciplinary investigation of how perceptions and conceptions of nature affect both the individual experience and society's management of nature. Leading thinkers from a variety of fields - philosophy, psychology, sociology, public policy, forestry, and others - address the conflict between perception and reality of nature, each from a different perspective. The editors of the volume provide an insightful introductory chapter that places the book in the context of contemporary debates and a concluding chapter that brings together themes and draws conclusions from the dialogue.<p>In addition to the editors, contributors include Albert Borgmann, David Graber, N. Katherine Hayles, Stephen R. Kellert, Gary P. Nabhan, Paul Shepard, and Donald Worster.

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A multidisciplinary response to some postmodern deconstruction which questions the concepts of nature and wilderness--sometimes, the authors contend, in order to justify further exploitative tinkering with what little remains of it. Topics include how concepts of nature differ in various academic disciplines and the implications of some claims that modern ideas of wilderness conservation are "Western," often elitist, neo- colonial concepts. Paper edition (unseen), $17.95. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)