Human Ecology: Toward a Holistic Method

Abstract

In terms of method, a holistic technique for ecological analysis is demonstrated. Given sufficiently comprehensive data, factor analysis can reveal the relationships among ecological variables as interrelated associated systems which, when viewed as a whole, should approximate a model of man''s relations with his total environment. In terms of ecological theory, the potential utility of such a model lies not only in its possible contributions to the development of more systematic concepts, but also in its role as a frame of reference, or common ground, among the several disciplines concerned with studies of man and his environment.