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Call for Papers "Human flourishing and restoration in the age of global warming" Interdisciplinary Conference Clemson University Clemson, SC (USA) 5-7 September 2008 __________________________________________________ Reports this year from the UNs Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change places it beyond reasonable doubt that humans are largely responsible for global warming and the potential consequences are simply unprecedented in scope and magnitude. It is also becoming increasingly clear that some of the consequences are now unavoidable. Preventative measures alone, if enacted, could only head-off the worst. What should be done with the natural world that will be inherited in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, the 20th and the opening decades of the 21st century? As embodied and terrestrial beings, embedded in an emerging and unstable new world climate, how should considerations of justice, ecological and human flourishing influence prescriptive combinations of prevention, mitigation, adaptation, and restoration? What should we believe about ecological restitution or redress to citizens of third-world countries, future generations, or non-human animals? What are the meta-ethical, technological, biological, and geo-political considerations that underlie this range of normative concerns? The focus of this conference will be on ideas that connect our current understanding of human flourishing with the phenomena of radical and anthropogenic global climate change. Special attention will be given to issues that arise at the intersection of philosophy, political theory, and the theory and practice of ecological restoration. Within this broad context, paper topics could relate to the following themes: - Philosophical Ideas: What are the implications of climate change for philosophical ideas at the heart of human flourishing, such as freedom, dignity, private property, aesthetic appreciation, etc.? Do we have an adequate understanding of the ecological dimensions of human flourishing to answer these questions? - Restoration vs. Adaptation: Should a concern with human flourishing lead us to pursue a response to climate change that involves restoration or adaptation? How might our responses to global climate change help promote human flourishing? - Flourishing of Non-Human Life: Given the significant impact climate change will have on the lives and activities of non-human animals, what do our obligations to their flourishing require? In an unstable climate how will the conditions of other terrestrial life affect the nature and possibility of human flourishing? - Equity and Global Justice: Given the unequal distribution of burdens that will result from climate change, what does sound ecological citizenship require us to consider about the flourishing of people in distant geographical locations? What might justice demand we restore? Will non-human animals deserve justice? How are fairness and human flourishing connected with global environmental conditions? - Future Generations: What does it mean to pass on climactic conditions in which future generations are able to lead flourishing lives? Could moral obligations to a future of life on earth inform what it is for human beings to flourish today? How do future generations figure in thought about restoration in the age of global warming? Send a proposal to <[email protected]> by November 30th, 2007. The finished papers of those accepted will be due by July 30th, 2008. Proposals should include an abstract of approximately 500 words, and optional explanation of some 200 words explaining the proposals relevance to the conference themes, and full contact details (email, phone, address). Graduate students are encouraged to apply. There will be one graduate student scholarship to help with costs. Contact: Allen Thompson, PhD Clemson University Department of Philosophy and Religion 126D Hardin Hall Clemson, SC 29634-0528 USA Email: [email protected] Web: http://people.clemson.edu/~athomp6/conference/ __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org
