“The Obscure Wisdom of the Potter Wasp”
By E. L. Grant Watson
The amazing provision of a female wasp for its offspring. How does she know the sex of the egg she is providing for?
“Genes and Life: The Need for Qualitative Understanding”
By Craig Holdrege
Reflections on the question, “Which of our genes make us human?” None of them and all of them. The question, it turns out, betrays a grave misunderstanding of genes and people.
“Programming the Universe: Are Animals Robots?”
By Stephen L. Talbott
Why it may be more difficult to simulate a beetle’s mentality in software than a human being’s.
“Goethean Science?”
By Stephen L. Talbott
On the difficulty of finding an appropriate name for a new kind of science. But Goethe began practicing it two centuries ago.
“A Way of Knowing as a Way of Healing”
By Stephen L. Talbott
Is there a name for what we at The Nature Institute do? Try “Goethean science.” Or “holistic science.” Or “phenomena-centered science.” Or “participative science.” Or “qualitative science.” Or “contextual science.” None of them does it all, but perhaps you begin to get the idea.
“Words of Dedication at the Founding Celebration”
By Henrike Holdrege
Recognizing both how little and how much we can do — and how much we depend on the work of others in our community.
“Ecological Agriculture Enters the Mainstream”
By Craig Holdrege
Brief review of two articles (one in Nature and one in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) supporting the idea of ecological agriculture.
“Seduced by Abstractions”
By Craig Holdrege
Review of Jerome Kagan’s Three Seductive Ideas (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1998).