'… A book of high scholarly merit … To date there have been a number of works in the philosophy of ecology written or co-authored by ecologists, few of which have shown anything like the level of philosophical sophistication of this work. Cooper knows the full range of available philosophical options and deploys them intelligently … He uses philosophy to ... Read moreclarify ecological debate and display the real choices we face, not to win arguments by the use of false dichotomies. At the same time, Cooper knows more than enough about ecology to convince his scientific audience that he is in touch with the real issues that confront them.' Paul E. Griffiths, University of Pittsburgh 'Greg Cooper's [book] is a must read for those interested in the history and philosophy of ecology and in topics like laws of nature, scientific explanation, and mathematical modelling. If you want to explore some of the metaphysical and methodological challenges that face ecology, there is no better place to go … On every page there are interesting ideas presented but which are excitingly controversial … With important exceptions notwithstanding, ecology has been largely ignored by philosophers of biology (though not by historians). Cooper's book will I believe help remedy this situation. It is a great resource for struggling with the fascinating controversies in ecology and is thankfully controversial itself.' Biology and Philosophy Show Less