In Light of Our Differences: How Diversity in Nature and Culture Makes Us Human

By David Harmon

Most scientists would agree that a sixth mass extinction is on the horizon unless radical changes are made in how Western society treats nature. At the same time, another extinction crisis is unfolding: the loss of many of the world's languages. More and more work in applied biology, anthropology, linguistics, and other related fields is now driven by the assumption that we are approaching a threshold of irreversible loss, that events during the next few decades will decide whether we cross over into a fundamentally changed and significantly diminished world. This leads to a very simple question that has not, until now, been answered satisfactorily: Why should anyone care? David Harmon takes a unique approach to answering this essential question by drawing on insights from conservation biology, evolutionary theory, linguistics, geography, psychology, philosophy, and ethics. His interconnected discussion explores the works of Voltaire, A.O. Lovejoy, Darwin, Wittgenstein, William James, Dobzhansky, and many others to explain why everyone must be concerned about the loss of diversity. When more and more elemental differences are erased from the natural world and human societies, the field of possible experience becomes more constricted and our essential humanity becomes jeopardized. The very reason our planet can be said to be alive is because an amazing variety of organisms, streams of human thought and behavior, and geophysical features exist that provide a congenial setting for the interworkings of nature and culture. Harmon's timely, important book elucidates how as we lose diversity, we risk losing ourselves.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 158834066X
• ISBN13: 9781588340665
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Recommended!

I can't say enough good things about this book. Harmon's accomplishment is that he makes difficult subject matter both extremely interesting and eminently readable. If you care about preserving the world's linguistic diversity, you MUST read this book. If you don't care now, read it anyway, and you WILL. A tour de force!

A Thought-Provoking Read

The author makes a fascinating case for regarding linguistic diversity in the same way we treat biodiversity. The shrinkage of world languages and concomitant homogenization of global culture should be just as threatening to us as the more emotional response we have when facing the loss of a furry or feathered creature. In addition to being a painstakingly constructed argument, complete with a fascinating rehabilitation of the philosophy of William James, the book itself is extraordinarily well-written. Not a common occurrence in the field of scientific treatises. A must-read for anyone concerned with the prospects for intelligent life on Earth.

Highly readable - reviewed by Danita Switzer

Don't be intimidated by the subject matter. Harmon's style of writing is straightforward, clear, and accessible. I found many of his ideas extremely unique. I recommend this!

Interesting subject/highly readable

Don't be intimidated by the subject matter. Harmon's style of writing is straightforward, clear, and accessible. I found many of his ideas extremely unique. I recommend this!