CApE-talk: Clive Hamilton
The acknowledged Australian philosopher and autor Clive Hamilton visits Center for Ecological Thinking and Læderstræde 20 and gives a talk on the way we as humans think about earth in the age of the anthropocene.
Clive introduces his talk:
" The titel of my talk in Copenhagen is 'The Anthropocene: Rethinking the Earth and its Dominant Species'. The arrival of the new geological epoch known as the Anthropocene is not only a rupture in Earth history. It is also, arguably, the most profound event in human history. Human beings have become so powerful that we have shifted the planet from its natural trajectory, becoming a ‘force of nature’ comparable with others that for billions of years have shaped Earth’s biogeological evolution. Yet, for all of our technological power, we now face an ‘angry’, ‘vengeful’ Earth woken from its Holocene slumber, sending ‘extreme events’ with ever-greater frequency.
All of this controverts the modern (and post-modern) way of thinking about the Earth and the place of humans on it. Our power and consciousness make us the special animal, but we are using our freedom and technology to destroy the conditions of life.
What concepts can we deploy to try to understand this radically new dispensation? And what is the appropriate disposition – hubris, hopefulness, rage, despair, resignation, nihilism, contrition?'.
The center will be hosting a small social event after the talk.