Table Of ContentARIADNE'S THREAD
Ariadne's Thread
Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos of Crete, possessed a magic ball of
thread that had the power to lead one into and back out of the otherwise
impenetrable Labyrinth wherein the Minotaur was kept. This ball-or clew
-she gave to the young Athenian, Theseus, so that he might safely slay the
monster and escape from the maze.
The Search for New Modes of Thinking
In 1946, in a letter to prominent Americans, Albert Einstein wrote the
following words:
"Our world faces a crisis as yet unperceived by those possessing the
power to make great decisions for good or evil. The unleashed power of
the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking, and thus
we drift towards unparalleled catastrophe ... a new type of thinking is
essential if mankind is to survive."
Quoted by 0. Nathan and H. Nordin (eds), Einstein on
Peace (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1960) p. 376
Ariadne's Thread
The Search for New Modes of Thinking
Mary E. Clark
Professor of Biology
San Diego State University, California
Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN 978-0-333-46600-1 ISBN 978-1-349-20077-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-20077-1
©Mary E. Clark, 1989
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1989 978-0-333-46599-8
All rights reserved. For information, write:
Scholarly and Reference Division,
St. Martin's Press, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
First published in the United States of America in 1989
ISBN 978-0-312-01580-0 (cloth)
978-0-312-01586-2 (paper)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Clark, Mary E.
Ariadne's thread : the search for new modes of thinking I Mary E.
Clark.
p. em.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-312-01580-0 $39.95 (est.) ISBN 978-0-312-01586-2(pbk.) :
1. Civilization, Modern-1950- I. Title.
CB428.C58 1989 88-28185
909.82-dct9 CIP
This book is written for Mike, Dave and Bill, and for
everyone else who is young and searching
Also by Mary E. Clark
CONTEMPORARY BIOLOGY
Contents
List of Illustrations XV
List of Tables XVII
Preface XIX
Acknowledgements xxiii
INTRODUCTION TO THE LABYRINTH
1 The Future: a Search for Values 3
Introduction 3
Predicting the Future 3
Nuclear Extinction 4
The 'Cassandra' Future 7
The 'Pollyana' Future 12
Science and Values 15
What Science Is-and Is Not 16
How the mind thinks 16
The world of science 17
The limits of science 18
Scientific Values and Other Values 21
Our Pathway through the Labyrinth 22
Reactions to What Is Coming 26
I NATURE'S CONSTRAINTS: 'WHAT ARE THE LIMITS TO
GROWTH?'
2 Energy and Exponentials 31
Introduction 31
Energy: What Is It? 31
Energy for Work 32
Stored Energy 32
Hydropower 33
Biomass: stored sunlight 33
Nuclear Energy 34
Thermal Gradients 35
Energy Conversion 36
The Laws of Thermodynamics 36
Current Human Energy Consumption around the World 39
Energy Resources in Industrialised Countries 41
VII
viii Contents
The Recent History of Energy Use 42
The meaning of exponential growth 44
Mineral scarcity and energy demand 49
Looking to the Future 53
Energy Options and Social Options 54
Energy Conservation 55
The 'Hard' Path 57
The 'Soft' Path 61
Some Concluding Thoughts 64
3 The Economics of Spaceship Earth 65
Introduction 65
Physical Properties of Spaceship Earth 66
Ecology and Ecosystems 67
Ecosystems Are Shaped by Climate 68
Ecosystems Repair Themselves 69
Ecosystems: Structure and Function 70
Factors That Influence Stability 73
The Concept of Carrying Capacity 75
The Growth of the Human Population 76
Economic Systems as Ecosystems 80
Hunting-Gathering Economics 80
Agricultural Economies 84
The ecological consequences of agriculture 86
Industrial Economies 94
Some Concluding Thoughts 96
4 Our Environmental 'Credit Card' Account Becomes Due 98
Introduction 98
Energy and Environmental Exploitation 100
Nutrient Depletion 103
Industrial Nutrients 103
Agricultural Nutrients 104
Water 105
Soil 109
The Tropics 111
The Oceans 113
Pollution 114
Climate Alteration 118
Extinctions and Gene Losses 120
Toward a New Worldview 122
A Philosophy of Community 122
A New 'Economics' 124
Some Concluding Thoughts 127
Contents IX
II THE HUMAN ANIMAL: 'WHAT IS "HUMAN NATURE"?'
5 The Emergence of Human Nature 131
Introduction 131
The Nature of Life 133
The Blueprints 134
The Process of Evolution 135
The 'Ethics' of Evolution 135
Human Evolution 138
Primate Bondedness 139
The First Humans 141
The Human Brain 142
Human Nature 146
Emotion and Instinct 147
The Role of Reason 148
Culture Is 'Natural' 149
Culture and Violence 152
Some Concluding Thoughts 155
6 The Cultural Spectrum 156
Introduction 156
What Anthropologists Do 157
The Elements of Culture 158
'Ernie' and 'Etic' Aspects of Culture 160
Cultural Adaptations 161
The Diversity of Ritual 162
The Adaptiveness of Ritual 163
The Tiwi of Australia 163
Potlatch in the Pacific Northwest 163
The !Kung in Southern Africa 164
Cultural Character 167
The Dobu 168
The Yanomamo 168
The Zuni 169
Cultural Destruction 172
The Yir Yoront of Australia 173
The Ik of Uganda 173
Cultural Change 175
Cultural Congruence 175
Local Autonomy 176
Pluralistic Societies 178
Some Concluding Thoughts 179
7 Religions and Worldviews 182
Introduction 182
