A breakthrough analysis of our environmental crisis, this book offers the insights of thinkers such as Plato, Lao-Tzu, Spinoza, and Whitehead to construct a set of concrete measures to estimate the value of nature. Application of these standards leads to the formation of the discipline of Foundational Ecology as the most effective educational tool for dealing with the next century's environmental crises. The real value of environmental processes comes alive through this systematic philosophy of nature. By offering a cultural critique of our idea of nature, Grange sets the environmental agenda for the next century.