Explaining Human Actions and Environmental Changes [Hardcover]

This book represents decades of candid reflection on human-environment relations. It is a welcome challenge to the 'interpretation' focus that dominates currently, evident in fashionable political ecology. Pete Vaydawho needs no introduction to those familiar with the fieldhas consistently argued for empirically grounded 'explanation' (asking 'why-questions,' as he puts it ) supported by rigorous appraisal of available evidence. He refines his argument here, in an approach he now calls 'causal explanation,' and explores its methodological implications. I warmly recommend the book to all those with an interest in human ecology as a thought-provoking read.This unusual book asks, among other things, what causes forest fires in Indonesia, what prompts tribal warfare, and why does tropical deforestation happen? Unlike most books that span such a diverse set of topics, however, the purpose here is not to present a grand theoryjust the reverse. Andrew P. Vayda, who has been a pioneer in the development of environmental anthropology and human ecology over the past half-century, eschews grand theories, theoretical fads, and bandwagons, arguing instead that we re-direct anthropological inquiry away from abstract explanation and toward concrete causes of events. Vayda asks, what should we study, how should we study it, and what claims can we make after we have done so? Both those who agree and those who disagree with Vayda's answers to these questions will welcome his call for greater self-interrogation regarding anthropological theory and method.This collection gives us insights into the hallmarks of Vayda's distinguished career: a fidelity to the details where human actions and environmental changes take place; an attention to the logic of the case informed by decades of advancements in the philosophy of science; and rigorous attention to the back-and-forth of explanation and methodology. Pete Vayda is social science's answer to Sherlock Holmes. His culprit is causation.El