so far in the brief discussion of weeds, it seems that people are using a
rather essentialist definition of weeds: we can confidently know what they
are, we can list them (ragweed, loosestrife), we know their qualities
(they're better adapted), etc.. But I am under the impression, from
reading Silent Spring among other texts, that the category "weed" is a
human construction signifying "undesireable plants." To talk of "weeds" is
to impose a set of human values on the environment (what is or is not
desirable, always determined from our human point of view). Is there any
way around this?
Glynis Carr
