Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book investigates some cases studies of succession in early 20th century American plant ecology. It identifies and clarifies the logical difference between Alexander von Humboldt’s physiognomic and Eugene Warming’s ecological plant geographies. The book argues that phenomenological resources are indispensable in answering the philosophical questions. It aims to develop applications of some of these resources through a contrast with Immanuel Kant’s account of organic form and the conception of necessity in his conception of the a priori synthetic judgments, a Newtonian account of absolute space. The book examines the relationship between Kant’s critical project and Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology concerning the unity and functional attributes proper to biological individuals and collectives. It explores how Husserl and Kant differ with regard to the necessity involved in a priori synthetic judgments. The book outlines the differences between phenomenological and Newtonian conceptions of space.