ABSTRACT
As indicated earlier1 it is a central notion of a general human ecology that the so-called ‘ecological crisis’ really is a ‘human crisis’, in particular of our modern Western society, and that, as a consequence, the way in which the human sciences see the problem should be given a prominent place. Indeed there is a need for social theory as discussed in the Introduction to Part IV and it is there that this need is stated in the context of geography, which finds itself in a position where it can no longer explain the rapid transformation of features of the environment without exploring the role of social forces and individual actions behind such transformations. As a consequence we should investigate the usefulness of existing social theories in an environmental context. In Part IV some aspects of the theories by Luhmann and by Habermas will be discussed. Here the focus is on the theory of structuration of society by Giddens (1984). The Geography Working Group mentioned in the Preface and also in the General Introduction, whose work led to the Appenberg conference and eventually to the present volume, chose this theory as a core feature for a general human ecology. Obviously this was not a ‘once-and-for-all’ kind of decision, but rather a signal to indicate that we wanted to take a serious look at its potential value as an important building block.
