Philosophy Walk

The ancient Greeks, who coined the word “virtue,” taught that virtue is an excellence, a paradigm, an example or model to aspire to. What would it mean for us to look for this kind of model, using the tools of modern ecology? In particular:

— How do the patterns of nature provide a guide for living?

— How can an ecological perspective help us to focus and direct our lives—not only as we engage with plants and other animals, wild places, or “the environment,” but especially in our human relationships, and in cultivating ourselves?

— How can the tools of ecology help us to understand ourselves, and to live a virtuous (excellent, flourishing) life?

— What does it mean to think about human life, and about virtue, as an ecologist would?

To approach these questions, we will examine five basic principles: whole systems, resource flows, dynamic balance, limits, and evolutionary processes. We will observe these principles in the patterns of nature, and discuss how we might apply them in everyday life.