TWENTIETH-CENTURY PARADIGM

 

Note: All posts are interconnected, so you are requested to read the previous posts before reading this post. 

Twentieth Century has witnessed a series of revolutionary developments in science, seriously challenging the Newtonian Vision of the Universe as a Giant Machine. The worldview emerging from the twentieth-century developments could eventually lead to a 'holistic' or 'humanistic' worldview. In this and onward sections, we shall attempt to bring out the salient features of this emerging paradigm from various domains of science. 

Deductions from Ecological Studies

 Ecological Principles showing dynamic interconnectedness:

In 1866, the German biologist Ernst Haeckel came up with the term ecology derived from the Greek word oikos (household) implies the study of Earth household and defined as the comprehensive science of the organism’s relationship with their environment. Hereafter, various authors proposed several definitions of ecology. The intention behind all the definitions is to understand the relationship of an organism with its environment. Thus, we can say that Ecology is the systematic and scientific study of organism-to-environment interactions. The environment includes both biotic (living organism) and abiotic (non-living organism). Ecology is not only biology but also an interdisciplinary science dealing with the totality of living organisms and their connections with the surroundings.

A fundamental concept of Ecology is that each living organism has a continuous relationship with all the rest that makes up its environment. The total sum of the biotic and abiotic environment is called the ecosystem such as ponds, forests, mountains, etc. The whole Nature is a collection of such ecosystems that are interconnected with each other and dynamic in time and space. This is known as ecological balance.

From a network perspective, Ecology may be seen as a network of interrelated networks in the form of a web of life where interactions between an organism and its environment can only be understood with the understanding of networks. It means that each node of the network is a network itself. Thus, the perspective implies that nothing can be understood in isolation due to the web of networks. Capra brings out the following six fundamental principles of ecology to account for the sustainability of Nature:

 (i)  Interdependence (Networks)

Each member of an ecological community is interdependently entwined in a complex web of interactions. Their existing properties and survival are an outcome of their interactions with the rest. The sustainability of each member depends on the sustainability of the whole while the sustainability of the whole depends on the sustainability of its members. Interdependence exists due to inherent relationships that can be visualized through a perceptional change – from the parts to the whole, from objects to relationships, and from contents to patterns.

(ii)  Cycles

Cycles play an important role to feed the whole ecological community. There is no waste in ecosystems due to interconnected cycles that help matter and energy to flow from one place to another place. One’s waste becomes input (food) for another.

(iii)   Solar Energy

The ecosystems use renewable sources of energy. The primary source of the energy is Sun. The sun’s energy is transformed into chemical energy through the process of photosynthesis and drives all ecological cycles. 

(iv)   Partnership

Partnership implies an inherent tendency to cooperate, recognition of relationships, and mutual support which are pervasive in ecosystems. In fact, the conductive environment for living organisms is an outcome of cooperation, partnership, and networking.

(v)  Diversity

Diversity helps ensure the stability and resilience of the ecosystem. More diversity means more networks that result in more resilience. For example, When a particular species is wiped out by a severe disturbance, a varied community can survive and rearrange itself, because other links in the network can perform at least some of the functions of the wiped-out species.

(vi)  Dynamic Balance

An ecosystem maintains itself dynamically with the help of multiple feedback loops.  

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Closing Circle

Ecologist Barry Commoner in his book “The Closing Circle” mentions the complex relationships and interdependencies in ecological systems on the basis of the following considerations;      

(i) Everything is connected to everything else 

(ii) Everything has to go somewhere 

(iii) Everything is always changing 

(iv) There is no such thing as a free lunch. Let us look at these in some more detail.

‘Everything is Connected to Everything else’

This law indicates the existence of intricately interconnected networks of relationships among organisms and their physicochemical environment. He explained the first Law through examples like food chains and webs. The source of energy on Earth is Sun. Energy from the sun goes to plants and is consumed by the primary consumers (herbivores) which are, in turn, consumed by the secondary consumers (carnivores). In a similar manner, the mouse eats hundreds of various plants and an owl consumes mice along with various other animals. In this way, both animals and plants are linked by hundreds of food chains making a complex food web. For common people, the chain may seem rather disorganized but actually, it is highly structured and stable.

‘Everything has to Go Somewhere'

This law emphasizes that there is no ‘waste’ in ecosystems. One’s waste becomes food for others. For example, animals release carbon dioxide as respiratory waste, an essential nutrient for green plants. Plants excrete oxygen, which is used by animals. Animal organic wastes nourish the bacteria of decay. Their wastes, inorganic materials such as nitrate, phosphate, and carbon dioxide, become algal nutrients.

‘Everything is always Changing’

The species found in a community of plants and animals do not remain the same forever. This transition is called the succession of ecology. The first phase in succession, called the pioneer stage, starts with lichens growing on bare rock. Eventually, enough soil is generated to provide the nutrients needed to support grass and herbal production. Seeds from briars, shrubs, vines and trees are blown or transported to the site by animals or water, where they can germinate eventually. Soon the trees and shrubs begin to grow, the grasses and herbs compete, and a new forest begins. Changes in plants occur until the last stage of succession, a climax group, is reached. The animal population is also witnessing several changes when one successive phase transitions to another. In the grasses and herbs of early succession, rabbits, meadow mice and groundhogs etc. seek abundant food. When grasses and herbs are replaced by shrubs and trees, deer and grouse are increasing in numbers. Thus, the species are undergoing constant change.

‘There is no Such Thing as a Free Lunch’

This signifies that the exploitation of nature always carries an ecological cost. From a strict ecological standpoint, human beings are consumers more than they are producers. And if this continues, environmental degradation becomes inevitable. The dominant pattern of modern development is clearly counter-ecological. In this development, all social relations between people and all the relationships of humans to nature are reduced to mere economic relations. Everything we eat, wear and use during our lifetime has only monetary and environmental costs.

Commoner says that the ecosystem is like a net, in which multiple strands connect each knot to another. Such a fabric can withstand collapse better than a straightforward, unbranched circle of threads, which breaks down as a whole if cut anywhere. Botkin and Keller call this interconnectedness as ‘Environmental Unity’ which implies that nothing can be changed individually, everything effects everything else. Various examples showing interconnectedness are mentioned in their book - ‘Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet’ . An excerpt from the book is quoted below;

“When cities, such as Chicago and Indianapolis, were developed in the eastern and midwestern United States, the clearing of forests and prairies and the construction of buildings and paved streets increased surface-water runoff and soil erosion, which in turn affected the shape of river channels—some eroded soil was deposited on the bottom of the channel, reducing channel depth and increasing flood hazard. Increased fine sediment made the water muddy, and street and yard runoff chemicals polluted the stream. These changes affected fish and other life in the river and terrestrial wildlife that depended on the river. The point here is that land-use conversion can set off a series of changes in the environment, and each change is likely to trigger additional changes.”