Foundations of Ecological Civilization

What is ecological civilization? What would it mean to create a civilization capable of sustaining the flourishing of people, communities, and the living world? And what transformations in our ways of thinking and living would such a transition require?

Ecological crisis is not simply a collection of environmental problems awaiting technological solutions. Climate change, biodiversity loss, economic inequality, social fragmentation, and unsustainable systems of production and consumption are interconnected symptoms of deeper patterns embedded within modern civilization. Addressing them requires us to examine the ideas and assumptions that have shaped the modern world—including how we understand nature, humanity, progress, value, community, and the economy—and to explore alternative ways of imagining our place within the larger community of life.

Foundations for Ecological Civilization approaches this task through the lens of process-relational thought. Beginning with a vision of ecological civilization, we will trace some of the historical and philosophical roots of our present crises before turning to Alfred North Whitehead’s ecological worldview as an alternative to the mechanistic and individualistic assumptions of modernity. From there, we will explore what this shift might mean for some of the basic systems through which civilization is organized, including food, agriculture, economics, and community.

The course ultimately moves from vision to critique, from critique to alternatives, and from alternatives to transformation. Through six sessions of philosophical reflection, interdisciplinary exploration, and practical conversation, participants will consider not only what an ecological civilization might look like, but how we might participate in bringing one into being.