This is the first introductory anthology on the philosophy of ecology edited by an ecologist and a philosopher. It illustrates the range of philosophical approaches available to ecologists and provides a basis for understanding the thinking on which many of today's environmental ideas are founded. Collectively, these seminal readings make a powerful statement on the value of ecological knowledge and thinking in alleviating the many problems of modern industrial civilization.

Issues covered include:
the challenges of defining scientific ecology, tracing its genealogy, and distinguishing the science from various forms of "ecological-like" thinking
the ontology of ecological entities and processes
selected concepts of community, stability, diversity, and niche
the methodology of ecology (rationalism and empiricism, reductionism and holism)
the significance of evolutionary law for ecological science

Contributions by: Daniel Simberloff, Robert Ulanowicz, Eugene P. Odum, Frederic E. Clements, Henry A. Gleason, Arthur G. Tansley, Karl Möbius, Robert H. Whittaker, Simon A. Levin, Richard B. Root, Ruth Patrick, Andrew Redfearn, Stuart L. Pimm, Karl R. Popper, Robert M. May, Kristin Shrader-Frechette, Earl D. McCoy, Thomas W. Schoener, Donato Bergandi, Richard Levins, Richard C. Lewontin, T. F. H. Allen, Thomas B. Starr, David L. Hull, Stephen J. Gould, Ernst Mayr, James P. Collins, Craig Loehle, Joseph H. K. Pechmann