Twelfth Annual Symposium on Environmental Affairs: Reimagining the Good Life

Note: Our 2009 Symposium is still being finalized; the below are draft. Please check back here later for further details.

October 27-29, 2009
Lewis & Clark College

Environmentalism has often focused on the bad things we do: fossil fuel burning, biodiversity loss, pollution—essentially, our whole unsustainable way of living on earth. And indeed our way of life may need to change, as recent crises ranging from climate to credit have suggested. But change is not just about doing less bad: we also need to reconstruct a larger vision of the good life in the midst of these crises to guide our hopes and our hard work. Environmental Affairs Symposium 2009 will recruit religious leaders, economists, artists, and others working alongside environmentalists and environmental scholars in reimagining the good life and what it means for the crises we face today.

Tuesday, October 27
Visions of the Good Life
3:00-4:30 PM, Stamm
What visions of the good life have guided the American environmental movement and society? Is the green life the good life, or if not, what is missing? The Pacific Northwest is often viewed as an ecological utopia, yet is this vision of the good life a reality here? What should be the role of technology in achieving our vision of the good life? What cultural, psychological, or political forces may support or hinder our attainment of these visions?

Blending Religious and Economic Insights on the Good Life
5:00-6:30 PM, Stamm
The fields of religion and economics are quite different, but arguably both will play crucial roles in helping people live the good life. And there may be more overlap than one would assume, given the calls of some religious leaders for a just and caring economics, or the realization among some economists that material well-being cannot simply be equated with the good life. Yet rarely do economists and religious leaders engage in dialogue. What common ground is possible in reimagining the good life, given the rather distinct interests of these two fields?

Creating Foundations for the Good Life
Keynote Address by Riane Eisler
7:00-8:00 PM, Chapel
Riane Eisler is an eminent systems scientist best known for her bestseller The Chalice and The Blade, now in 23 languages. Her newest book, The Real Wealth of Nations offers a roadmap to a more caring, equitable, and sustainable economic system. Dr. Eisler is co-founder of the Spiritual Alliance to Stop Intimate Violence and president of the Center for Partnership Studies. She keynotes conferences worldwide, and consults to businesses and governments on applications of the partnership model introduced by her research. She has received many honors, and is included in the award-winning Great Peacemakers as one of 20 leaders for world peace, with Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King.

Wednesday, October 28
Whose Good Life?
3:00-4:30 PM, Stamm
Not only are there differing visions of the good life, but there are widely differing realities facing people in our world. How can we even talk about the good life given such huge inequities of wealth and well-being? The environmental movement has recently worked to embrace social justice, but it’s been argued that many environmental policies actually oppress those living in poorer countries. So, whose good life are we talking about? Furthermore, can environmentalists really claim to promote or even to understand the good life of non-humans?

Beauty and Pleasure in the Good Life
5:00-6:30 PM, Stamm
As important as material and financial security are to the good life, we all know that aesthetic dimensions are important too, and environmentalists often extol the beauty of nature. Is the good life mostly about doing good, or is it about experiencing beauty and pleasure as well? How can the arts help us reimagine a pleasurable good life? What of the discoveries of science, with their own attendant beauty and pleasure? And what about nature, which for some is a primary source of aesthetic inspiration: is this possible or even desirable for everyone?

For more information on the Symposium, please contact the Environmental Studies Program at (503) 768-7719 or envs@lclark.edu