Biosphere And Noosphere Reader: Global Environment, Society An

Description: Literally the sphere of mind or intellect', the noosphere is part of the realm of the possible' in human affairs, where there is a conscious effort to tackle global issues. The history of this rich but poorly explored idea has significant contemporary resonance in understanding the evolution of human society and our position in the biosphere (the sphere of life). The noosphere concept captures a number of key comtemporary issues - social evolution, global ecology, Gaia, deep ecology and global environment change - contributing to ongoing dabates concerning the implications of emerging technologies. This Reader is the first comprehensive history of the noosphere and biosphere. Drawing on classical influences, modern parallels, and insights into the future, the Reader traces the emergence of noosphere and biosphere concepts within the context of environmental change. Reproducing material from seminal works, both past and present, key ideas and writings of prominient thinkers are presented, including Bergson, Vernadsky, Lovelock, Russell, Needham, Huxley, Medawar, Toynbee and Boulding, and extensive introductory pieces by the editors draw attention to common themes and competing ideas. Focussing on issues of origins, theories, parallels and potential, the discussions place issues in a broad context, compare and contrast central comcepts with those of the Gaia hypothesis, sustainability and global change, and examine the potential application of noospheric ideas to current debates about culture, education and technology in such realms as the Internet, space exploration, and the emergence of super-consciousness. Table of Contents: List of boxes List of figures Foreword - Mikhail S. Gorbachev Preface Part 1. Introduction: Sketching the Noosphere Part 2. Origins: The Biosphere and the Noosphere Introduction 1. Man and Nature, The Earth as Modified by Human Action George Perkins Marsh 2.Face of the Earth Eduard Suess 3. Geology Thomas C. Chamberlain and Rollin D. Sainsbury 4. Geochemistry Vladimir I. Vernadsky 5. Elements of Physical Biology Alfred J. Lotka 6. Holism and Evolution Jan C. Smuts 7. The Biosphere; Problems of Biogeochemistry Vladimir I. Vernadsky 7. The Biosphere G. Evelyn Hutchinson 8. Discovering the Biosphere Lynton K. Cadwell 9. Vernadsky and Biospheral Ecology Nicholas Polunin and Jacques Grinevald 10. Man and the Biosphere Kenneth M. Stokes Part 3. Theories: The Evolution of the Concept of Noosphere Introduction 1. Creative Evolution Henri Bergson 2. The Origins of Humanity and the Evolution of Mind Edouard Le Roy 3. The Phenomenon of Man; The Antiquity and World Expansion of Human Culture Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 4. Introduction, The Phenomenon of Man Julian S. Huxley 5. Cosmologist of the Future Joseph Needham 6.Vision of the Unity Arnold J. Toynbee 7. The Phenomenon of Man Peter B. Medawar 8. On the Remarkable Testament of the Jesuit Paleontologist Teilhard de Chardin Geroge G. Simpson 9. Scientific Thought as a Planetary Phenomenon; The Biosphere and Noosphere Vladimir I. Vernadsky Part 4. Theories: Paralles from Gaia to Global Change Introduction 1. Theory of the Earth James Hutton 2. On the Influence of Carbonic Acid Svante Arrhenius 3. Fitness of the Environment Lawrence J. Henderson 4. Gaia as Seen Through the Atmosphere; The Earth as a Living Organism James E. Lovelock 5. Jim Lovelock's Gaia ynn Margulis 6. Debating Gaia Steven H. Schneider 7. Global Change Thomas F. Malone 8. Sustainable Developmnent of the Biosphere William C. Clark 9. Noosphere, Gaia and the Science of the Biosphere Rafal Serafin Part 5. Potential: The Future of Noosphere Introduction 1. The Ascent of Life Thomas A. Goudge 2. The Gutenburg Galaxy Marshall McLuhan 3. The Biology of Ultimate Concern Theodosius Dobzhansky 4. Biospheres: Metamorphosis of Planet Earth Dorian Sagan 5. The Way: An Ecological World-View Edward Goldsmith 6. The Selfish Gene - Memes: The New Replicators Richard Dawkins 7. Ecodynamics: A New Theory of Societal Evolution Kenneth Bouding 8. Reflection on the Noosphere- Humanism in Our Time Nikita Moiseev 9. Metaman: The Merging of Humans and Machines into a Global Superorganism Gregory Stock 10. The Global Brain Awakens: Our Next Evolutionary Leap Peter Russell Part 6. Conclusions: The Noosphe