Biocracy

Biocracy, a term invented by physiologist Walter Bradford Cannon, refers to the influence of biological science on society and its public policies. Beginning with the prophetic essay “Biopolitics: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy,†this book addresses various aspects of the relationships among the life sciences, society, and government. Included in the topics considered are some of the more critical issues of our time: the social responses to life science innovations; health and homeostasis as social concepts; the relationship between history and biology and that between the life sciences and the law; biocratic interpretations of ethical behavior and biopolitical conflicts; and the options, risks, and international consequences of biotechnology. Caldwell’s book is a collection of articles that he wrote on this subject over a period of twenty-five years. Of the ten chapters, four have previously appeared in scholarly journals but have undergone extensive editorial revisions appropriate to this publication. The remaining six chapters have been presented at various professional meetings but have not hitherto been available in print.

In his second book W. Thomson Martin brings together the liberating force of outrage in service to life with the meditative rhythms of connecting to nature --- plants, animals, rivers and mountains. In the tradition of Thomas Berry and Joanna Macy, Tom inspires the reader to explore healing trails that can lead us from self-destructive behaviour to a healthier way of being human.From encounters with bears and foxes to the intricacies of biocratic urban design, this book in equal measure inspires, guides and restores courage and spirit....

This volume brings together leading scholars in the field of organisation studies to reflect on the universal phenomena of hierarchy (vertical organisation of tasks) and bureaucracy (rule-bound execution of tasks), resulting in a colourful kaleidoscope of thought-provoking, critical and refreshingly non-mainstream analysis.

A wide-ranging history tracing the birth of biopolitics in Enlightenment thought and its aftermath. In Enlightenment Biopolitics, historian William Max Nelson pursues the ambitious task of tracing the context in which biopolitical thought emerged and circulated. He locates that context in the Enlightenment when emancipatory ideals sat alongside the horrors of colonialism, slavery, and race-based discrimination. In fact, these did not just coexist, Nelson argues; they were actually mutually constitutive of Enlightenment ideals. In this book, Nelson focuses on Enlightenment-era visions of eugenics (including proposals to establish programs of selective breeding), forms of penal slavery, and spurious biological arguments about the supposed inferiority of particular groups. The Enlightenment, he shows, was rife with efforts to shape, harness, and “organize” the minds and especially the bodies of subjects and citizens. In his reading of the birth of biopolitics and its transformations, Nelson examines the shocking conceptual and practical connections between inclusion and exclusion, equality and inequality, rights and race, and the supposed “improvement of the human species” and practices of dehumanization.

In this short treatise, the author attempts to analyze the process by which a particular disease has become, for a fairly long period of time, the sole concern of the country. He tries to understand why the disease and its representation have invaded all the fields of power in France but also in many other countries. President Macron's speech on March 16, 2020, can be seen as the manifesto of a new page in our history. How to explain the sudden political centrality of this epidemic? What happened to make the executive branch, weakened by the crises affecting most sectors of society, seize all powers, including medical power, thus calling into question the sacrosanct principle of the "separation of powers", without raising any notable protests? Finally, how can we understand that the economy has been greatly slowed down and the population confined? That the dead have been left without burial? That the pillars of classical morality collapsed for a moment? That cultural activity was stopped? That cinemas, restaurants, theaters, opera houses...were closed? Everything shows that through this unprecedented crisis, a new regime is being put in place, which the author describes as "biocracy", an immense revolution by which we pass from the "government of men" to the "management of the living". Sidney TOUATI Lawyer, essayist, playwright; publications: A hauteur de femme (theater); Le lys entre les chardons (novel); De la IVème République au néo-féodalisme; La face cachée de l'Affaire Tapie; de Voltaire à Badinter; as well as numerous articles.

LaConte's book offers a compelling answer To The now-universal question suggested by her subtitle. The global economy has gone viral. it is ravaging Earth's equivalent of an immune system the way HIV ravages the human immune system, triggering a Critical Mass of AIDS-like mutually reinforcing environmental, economic, social and political crises that are undermining the ability of human and natural communities to support, protect and heal themselves. LaConte's prognosis? Since Life rules, we don't, Life will last but Life as we know it-and a lot of us-won't. LaConte shows that Life learned two billion years ago how to deal with pathological economies: it put them out of business. it encoded in other-than-human species a set of Economic Rules for Survival that allow them to live within Earth's means long term. In accessible prose LaConte explains how those rules can work for humans too. Recommended as a tool for community transition and cultural transformation, Life Rules offers a solution to our global crisis the publishers call "authentically conserve-ative, deeply Green, and profoundly liberating."

Process thought is an important component of contemporary philosophy. Alfred North Whitehead’s organic philosophy has a special place in the landscape of process thinking, being detailed, precise and well-thought, and at the same time extremely visionary and far-reaching. The global community of process thinkers includes physicists, biologists, doctors, political scientists, educators, activists, philosophers, theologians and other people devoted to rethinking their disciplines in the light of process philosophy. This volume presents the cutting edge in the creation of a process worldview. Leading scholars from all over the world gathered to discuss how process thinking can inspire us to rethink our lives. Precise philosophical language and a unifying vision are applied to core issues, such as politics, society, education and religion. The book represents a bold move from academic philosophy into the realm of actual human lives.

In recent years the engagement between the environmental 'agenda' and mainstream political theory has become increasingly widespread and profound. Each has affected the other in palpable and important ways, and it makes increasing sense for political theorists in each camp to engage with one another. This book, first published in 2006, draws together the threads of this interconnecting enquiry in order to assess its status and meaning. Andrew Dobson and Robyn Eckersley have gathered together a team of renowned scholars to think through the challenge that political ecology presents to political theory. Looking at fourteen familiar political ideologies and concepts such as liberalism, conservatism, justice and democracy, the contributors question how they are reshaped, distorted or transformed from an environmental perspective. Lively, accessible and authoritative, this book will appeal to scholars and students alike.

Fem reclaims her rightful name as fem, her gender as feme and her species as sapiens giving people choices among truths for moral action. The hope is to eradicate the false illogical names w-o- +man and hu +man as mankind, and the irrational name fe +male. In patriarchy, slavery and feudalism 'man' meant male slave showing that man always meant male. Fem in reclaiming her rightful identity advantages both genders with facts, truths, inclusive and neutral names to work with.

Urban and natural environments are often viewed as entirely separate entities — human settlements as the domain of architects and planners, and natural areas as untouched wilderness. This dichotomy continues to drive decision-making in subtle ways, but with the mounting pressures of global climate change and declining biodiversity, it is no longer viable. New technologies are promising to provide renewable energy sources and greener designs, but real change will require a deeper shift in values, attitudes, and perceptions. A timely and important collection, The Natural City explores how to integrate the natural environment into healthy urban centres from philosophical, religious, socio-political, and planning perspectives. Recognizing the need to better link the humanities with public policy, The Natural City offers unique insights for the development of an alternative vision of urban life.