• Introduction; Acknowledgements; 1. The struggle for existence; 2. The roots of controversy; 3. Must there be a balance of nature?; 4. The pursuit of ecological generality; 5. Model building: a controversial craft; 6. Theoretical explanation and fundamental laws; 7. The explanatory continuum; 8. Theories, models and explanatory tools; Epilogue; References; Index.

'… A book of high scholarly merit … To date there have been a number of works in the philosophy of ecology written or co-authored by ecologists, few of which have shown anything like the level of philosophical sophistication of this work. Cooper knows the full range of available philosophical options and deploys them intelligently … He uses philosophy to clarify ecological debate and display the real choices we face, not to win arguments by the use of false dichotomies. At the same time, Cooper knows more than enough about ecology to convince his scientific audience that he is in touch with the real issues that confront them.' Paul E. Griffiths, University of Pittsburgh