Catastrophic Thinking

Catastrophic Thinking
Author :
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Total Pages : 368
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780226829524
ISBN-13 : 0226829529
Rating : 4/5 (529 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Catastrophic Thinking by : David Sepkoski

Download or read book Catastrophic Thinking written by David Sepkoski and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2023-12-06 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A history of scientific ideas about extinction that explains why we learned to value diversity as a precious resource at the same time as we learned to “think catastrophically” about extinction. We live in an age in which we are repeatedly reminded—by scientists, by the media, by popular culture—of the looming threat of mass extinction. We’re told that human activity is currently producing a sixth mass extinction, perhaps of even greater magnitude than the five previous geological catastrophes that drastically altered life on Earth. Indeed, there is a very real concern that the human species may itself be poised to go the way of the dinosaurs, victims of the most recent mass extinction some 65 million years ago. How we interpret the causes and consequences of extinction and their ensuing moral imperatives is deeply embedded in the cultural values of any given historical moment. And, as David Sepkoski reveals, the history of scientific ideas about extinction over the past two hundred years—as both a past and a current process—is implicated in major changes in the way Western society has approached biological and cultural diversity. It seems self-evident to most of us that diverse ecosystems and societies are intrinsically valuable, but the current fascination with diversity is a relatively recent phenomenon. In fact, the way we value diversity depends crucially on our sense that it is precarious—that it is something actively threatened, and that its loss could have profound consequences. In Catastrophic Thinking, Sepkoski uncovers how and why we learned to value diversity as a precious resource at the same time as we learned to think catastrophically about extinction.


Catastrophic Thinking Related Books

Catastrophic Thinking
Language: en
Pages: 368
Authors: David Sepkoski
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2023-12-06 - Publisher: University of Chicago Press

GET EBOOK

A history of scientific ideas about extinction that explains why we learned to value diversity as a precious resource at the same time as we learned to “think
Catastrophic Thinking
Language: en
Pages: 128
Authors: Ben Shapiro
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-02-03 - Publisher: Creators Publishing

GET EBOOK

2019 was the year of the “wokescolds” and the “woke inquisitors”—the new representatives of moral panic in America. Fresh faces in Congress, a wave of
Overcoming Anticipatory Anxiety
Language: en
Pages: 234
Authors: Sally M. Winston
Categories: Self-Help
Type: BOOK - Published: 2022-05-01 - Publisher: New Harbinger Publications

GET EBOOK

Get ahead of your anticipatory anxiety, and start living with flexibility and peace of mind. Do you automatically assume the worst-case-scenario when faced with
Catastrophizing
Language: en
Pages: 308
Authors: Gerard Passannante
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2019-03-25 - Publisher: University of Chicago Press

GET EBOOK

When we catastrophize, we think the worst. We make too much of too little, or something of nothing. Yet what looks simply like a bad habit, Gerard Passannante a
Mastery of Anxiety and Panic for Adolescents Riding the Wave, Therapist Guide
Language: en
Pages: 169
Authors: Donna B Pincus
Categories: Psychology
Type: BOOK - Published: 2008-03-28 - Publisher: Oxford University Press

GET EBOOK

The treatment described in this Therapist Guide is specifically designed for adolescents with panic disorder and agoraphobia. Panic disorder often first appears