Defending the ethics of ecological restoration

Abstract

Ecological restoration has been attacked as a morally repugnant attempt to fake nature. "Postmodernism," or poststructuralist epistemology, has been similarly attacked for its rejection of belief in "real nature." The essentialism of these attacks is inconsistent with the empirical basis of science and value. The science of complexity theory is supportive of poststructuralism and ecological restoration, and an understanding of poststructuralism in fact enables us to defend ecological restoration as a joyful and creative act.