Population growth as a problem in the public sphere: current state of play and future prospects

Eight contemporary population growth (PG) thinkers serve as a representative sampling of the cross-section of current PG ideas. Using the philosophical models of problems provided by Laudan (1977) and Nickles (1978, 1980a, 1981), these eight PG spokespersons are shown to have different conceptions o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Schwartzman, Peter D.
Other Authors: Science and Technology Studies
Format: Others
Language:en
Published: Virginia Tech 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10919/45619
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-11102009-020243/
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Summary:Eight contemporary population growth (PG) thinkers serve as a representative sampling of the cross-section of current PG ideas. Using the philosophical models of problems provided by Laudan (1977) and Nickles (1978, 1980a, 1981), these eight PG spokespersons are shown to have different conceptions of what a "problem" is. Such differences are shown to have significant impact in ordering the present PG debate. In particular, these differences are a source of incommensurability and/or disagreement among the thinkers. They are also entail that alternative senses of the "real problems" are being considered. The final chapter recommends a framework which will improve PG discourse as it presently stands. Emphasis is placed on interaction of the spokespersons, integration of other literatures (in particular, ecological economics and feminist scholarship), and delivery of argument. === Master of Science