Ecology in context: A new conceptual frame

Abstract

This paper reports on a developing theoretical frame for human ecology. It is based on the archetypal conceptual frames or contexts that underpin all scientific endeavors and draws on the new powerful techniques of semantic analysis. There are three archetypal scientific frames that have emerged since the Enlightenment, referred to here as the mechanistic, systemic, and interactive frames respectively. These three frames are conceptually distinct and each involves different levels of analysis. Each also operates with its own fundamental units: things (substantives or nouns) in the case of the mechanistic frame, processes (actions through time or verbs) in the case of the systemic frame, and events (experienced qualitatively) in the case of the interactive frame. All three frames are equally important for developing scientific understanding, but they are often confused in the scientific literature. Semantic analysis enables human ecologists to unscramble such confusion by drawing on the concept of archetypal meaning (sometimes referred to as the core or invariant meaning) and by defining and elaborating variations in meaning rigorously through the use of a natural semantic metalanguage (NSM). In addition, semantic analysis enables researchers to analyze the way motile organisms internalize their experiences by mapping the conceptual frame that they have internalized and use to make sense of those experiences. Traditionally, ecology and especially human ecology has been concerned with the interactions of organisms with each other and with their environment or context. It is argued that the interactive frame offers better explanations for evolution, creativity, and the experience of properties than the other two frames and provides a powerful explanatory frame for human ecology.