There is an interesting debate playing out between Eben Kirksey and Tim Ingold. In this article Eben responds to a critique by Ingold that he doesn’t understand the ‘species concept’. I’ve scanned these and it is really interesting and will fit well with out reading of Descola. Anyway, have a look:
Taxonomists, who describe new species, are acutely aware of how political, economic, and ecological forces bring new forms of life into being. Conducting ethnographic research among taxonomic specialists – experts who bring order to categories of animals, plants, fungi, and microbes – I found that they pay careful attention to the ebb and flow of agency in multispecies worlds. Emergent findings from genomics and information technologies are transforming existing categories and bringing new ones into being. This article argues that the concept of species remains a valuable sense-making tool despite recent attacks from cultural critics.
Download Eben’s article here:
Kirksey2015-Journal_of_the_Royal_Anthropological_InstituteSpecies: a praxiographic study
Download Ingold’s article here: ingold2013