we don't need to change how we do conservation, we need to change why we do it
Extremophile Publishing
DARWIN, DOGEN, AND THE EXTREMOPHILE CHOICE – Fifty Short Essays on What it Means to be Human in the Natural World
NOTE: Paperback is first edition (2019) but updated e-book is available on Kindle and Kobo.
The book develops and expands on the themes introduced on this website. But also, as the inclusion of Dogen in the title implies, more attention is given to our ‘bodyminds’ as cultural animals. (This theme is only hinted at in the ‘Quick Tour’ page 3.) The “two trees” analogy, by comparing and contrasting cultural intelligence (the “tree of knowledge”) with evo-ecological intelligence (the “tree of life”), helps us to explore our human creativity — its origins as an escape from Natural regulation, and the consequences of this escape for both the Natural world and for our own human future.
The full paperback version is still available below for the production cost of $25.34 plus shipping.
REVIEW of Darwin, Dogen, and the Extremophile Choice: “This remarkable book combines Darwin, ecology, and meditation research in original ways. There is real understanding of the sciences here, as well as a vipassana practitioner’s personal phenomenology. But there’s nothing New Age about it. It is thoroughly researched. It is extremely well written, with thoughtful insights into the societal and personal choices human beings must face under the onslaught of ecological degradation.”
[Review by James H. Bunn, Professor Emeritus of English Literature at the University of Buffalo, and former member of the Center for Cognitive Science there. He is author of Balancing the Common Core Curriculum in Middle School Education, 2017, and The Natural Law of Cycles Governing the Mobile Symmetries of Animals and Machines, 2014.]
THE EXTREMOPHILE CHOICE: A QUICK TOUR – Free PDF Download
A 12-page pictorial introduction to the key concepts in the e-book: Darwin, Dogen, and the Extremophile Choice (Fifty Short Essays on what it means to be Human in the Natural World)
EXTREMOPHILE PUBLISHING MISSION STATEMENT: Although from time to time, as a secondary project, works might be published just for fun and friendship, the primary mission is to publish essays, prose, poetry and pictures that Illuminate the next chapter in the human story. The next primary project in queue is a book of poems and quotations that express the spirit of the Extremophile Choice. To this end, all visitors to this site are invited to suggest entries from your own reading list. And, of course, original works will also be considered. (For example, two suitable poems already selected are: A Seaside Walk by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and The Worm’s Waking by Rumi.)
Free pdf: DARWIN, DOGEN, AND THE EXTREMOPHILE CHOICE – Fifty Short Essays on What it Means to be Human in the Natural World (fourth edition – Mar. 2025)
Add to cart and DOWNLOAD FREE the full pdf version (2.5 MB). The author is offering the most recent updates for a limited time until the newest edtiion becomes available in hardcover. The full paperback version is still available for the production cost of $25.34 plus shipping.
