Sociology and nature1997

Humanity's success in manipulating nature destabilizes the natural support system of society on a planetary scale and, in turn, destabilizes all of society's institutions. Murphy argues that society can now be understood only in terms of the interaction between social action and the processes of nature because the manipulation of nature has become so central to modern society. The growing awareness that social constructions unleash dynamic processes of nature - processes beyond human control that bear on social action - has the potential of radically transforming sociology. Sociology and Nature proposes the reconstruction of sociology in which nature does matter, developing a novel sociological approach that situates social action in its natural context.