Writing a book about how we learn to navigate the complex transition to sustainable and democratic societies. Looking for feedback on a draft--sign up at https://freedomsurvival.org
Movement-building through ideas, analysis, and education.
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Thanks to @postcarboninstitute and Resilience.org for reposting my latest writing update for my ecological transition guidebook!
Check it out here: https://www.resilience.org/stories/2024-08-21/climate-justice-in-an-ethically-complex-world/
Sign up to read the draft and provide feedback here: https://freedomsurvival.org/
#climate #climatecrisis #democracy #activism #systemchange #ethics #writing
Thanks to @postcarboninstitute and Resilience.org for reposting my latest writing update for my ecological transition guidebook!
Check it out here: https://www.resilience.org/stories/2024-03-22/embracing-the-values-of-sustainable-and-democratic-societies-part-2/
Sign up to read the draft (when it's ready) and provide feedback here: https://freedomsurvival.org/
#climate #climatecrisis #democracy #activism #systemchange #ethics #writing
My goal is to provide frameworks that help people to think more deeply about where their values come from, how well these values resonate with the societies we must create, whether their actions align with their values, and how to achieve greater value-action alignment.
Encyclopedia Britannica defines “ethical egoism" as the theory that “everyone should do what is in his own interests.”
https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethics-philosophy/Natural-law-ethics#ref252577
It points out that adherents are forced to claim that others’ self-interested actions benefit rather than damage our own self-interest. Otherwise, this theory would be self-defeating.
Next paragraph: “Unfortunately for ethical egoism, the claim that everyone will be better off if each person does what is in his own interests is incorrect.”
Ethics - Natural Law, Morality, Duty: During most of the 20th century, most secular moral philosophers considered natural law ethics to be a lifeless medieval relic, preserved only in Roman Catholic schools of moral theology. In the late 20th century the chief proponents of natural law ethics continued to be Roman Catholic, but they began to defend their position with arguments that made no explicit appeal to religious beliefs. Instead, they started from the claim that there are certain basic human goods that should not be acted against in any circumstances. The list of goods offered by John Finnis in the aforementioned Natural Law and Natural
If we're going to transition to societies that respect ecological limits, we'll need to begin asking questions that help us rethink fundamental assumptions.
So, what do you think civilization is for?
Here's ecological ethicist Peter Brown's answer:
https://www.uvm.edu/~jfarley/BUG/chapter%2015.pdf
#climatecrisis #climate #justice #ethics #democracy #systemchange
Neoclassical economist: A market left to its own devices is economically efficient.
Ecologist: An ecosystem left to its own devices is thermodynamically efficient.
Pay too much attention to the first and you'll fail to see the importance of the second.
Many common cognitive biases could impede the #transition to a #sustainable society if left unchallenged.
One example is the Ostrich Effect: We tend to avoid negative #information, even if it could help us solve a problem.
A rapid transition could demand significant lifestyle change (for those in wealthy countries) and other challenges we'll need to prepare for.
Ask yourself: Am I avoiding information because it makes me feel uncomfortable?
It can be fascinating and highly informative to not just look for explanations of the ideas you’re trying to learn about, but to trace their history.
Alec Fisher offers a concise history of some of the major figures in the #CriticalThinking movement and the ideas they emphasized in his essay “What Critical Thinking Is”.
https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/criticalthinking1234/chapter/__unknown__-2/
In 1990, experts in the #CriticalThinking movement were surveyed to find consensus perspectives on the dispositions of a critical thinker (https://stearnscenter.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/12-The-Delphi-Report-on-Critical-Thinking.pdf).
None of them belong to a small, gifted minority of people, but they do take work to live by.
I think we’ll need a movement of people working to build these habits to realize a #sustainable and #democratic society.
I recently drafted a book chapter on a topic I think is essential for embracing ecological limits and navigating a societal transition: critical thinking and learning.
The more complex and challenging the transition may be, the greater the need to cultivate these skills.
Will be looking for feedback on this draft sometime next year. Subscribe at freedomsurvival.org to join the list!
#ClimateCrisis #SystemChange #CriticalThinking #Learning #Activism
