An Ecological Civilization: Vision and Practice

with Jeremy Lent

Diarmuid O’Murchu

The global human community is currently hurtling headlong toward catastrophe, as a result of climate breakdown, ecological overshoot, and gaping social and political inequalities among people. Even when the urgent need to change course is understood, enacting this change is daunting.  Redirecting humanity’s trajectory will require transformation at a foundational level: moving the human way of life from a wealth-based, extractive civilization to one that is life-affirming, an ecological civilization. In four two-hour sessions, author Jeremy Lent will guide participants to deeply engage with the necessary work of envisioning, embodying, and enacting an ecological civilization.

This course of four classes will review the concept of an ecological civilization from multiple perspectives. The first class will lay out a deep historical context, describing the impact of culture and values on history, and introducing the vision of an ecological civilization in contrast to our current society. The second class will explore the ontological and ethical parameters of an ecological civilization. The third class will delve into specifics of what an ecological civilization might look like in practice; and the final class will trace realistic pathways to a life-affirming future—and invite participants to explore their own engagement in laying the groundwork. 

Each class will consist of presentations, full group discussion, and small group exercises:

• Class 1  | Ecological Civilization in Historical Context
• Class 2 | Ecological Civilization: Worldview and Values
• Class 3 | An Ecological Civilization in Practice
• Class 4 | Pathways to an Ecological Civilization

Jeremy Lent is an author whose writings investigate the patterns of thought that have led our civilization to its current existential crisis. His recent book, The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity’s Search for Meaning, explores the way humans have made meaning from the cosmos from hunter-gatherer times to the present day. He is founder of the non-profit Liology Institute, dedicated to fostering an integrated worldview that could enable humanity to thrive sustainably on the Earth. His upcoming book, The Web of Meaning: Integrating Science and Traditional Wisdom to Find Our Place in the Universe, will be published in June 2021 by New Society Publishers (USA/Canada) and Profile Books (UK & Commonwealth). Jeremy writes topical articles exploring the deeper patterns of political and cultural developments at Patterns of Meaning.

Online links:

Author website

Blog: Patterns of Meaning

Liology Institute

Date: 4 Tuesdays - Feb 2, 9, 16 & 23, 2021

Time: 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Pacific

Cost: $50

Location: Zoom on-line – a link to the program will be sent to you 5 days before the program begins.

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