Social Ecology and Wild Law - rethinking our attitudes to nature

This week Sydney Ideas presents events at the University of Sydney on two major figures of the environmental movement whose thinking challenges us to reconsider our relationship to nature and to each other.

Murray Bookchin and Social Ecology

On 21 September Professor David Schlosberg , Department of Government and International Relations , looks at the contribution and contradictions of Murray Bookchin, who died in 2006.

"Bookchin was one of the key figures in environmental philosophy and political thought in the 20th century," Professor Schlosberg said. "Along with figures such as Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold and Wendell Berry, he inspired a generation to reconceptualise the human relationship with the natural world."

The main argument of Bookchin’s ’social ecology’ was that nature is not a place of domination and exploitation but is inevitably defined that way by a society steeped in unequal power relationships.

"Bookchin believed that removing domination from social relationships would help human societies realise the cooperative potential of the natural world.

"Unfortunately, Bookchin himself was domineering. He insisted on sole ownership of the idea of social ecology, while criticising and demonising those who tried to build on its ideas by going in alternate directions," Professor Schlosberg said.

Schlosberg believes Bookchin’s tragedy is that, through his own actions, the idea he created became as dominating and alienating as the false image of the natural world he had so accurately described.

Event details

What: Murray Bookchin and social ecology: rethinking nature and alienating a movement

When: 6pm, Wednesday 21 September

Where: Foyer, New Law Building, Camperdown Campus. See map and directions

Cost: This series is free and open to all, with no ticket or booking required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis.

Wild Law and Earth Jurisprudence

On 23 September Sydney Ideas welcomes Cormac Cullinan, an environmental attorney whose groundbreaking book Wild Law: A Manifesto for Earth Justice, has played a significant role in inspiring an international movement to recognise rights for nature.

Wild law is law which places the long-term interests of the whole "Earth community" over the short-term interests of any one species, including humans. In his talk Cullinan will make the case for an eco-centric approach to law and governance and explore the potential of earth jurisprudence and wild law to radically reshape law and society as we know it.

Cullinan argues that environmental laws as presently conceived are incapable of addressing fundamental environmental challenges such as climate change and the degradation of ecosystems. He will explore how to build the global solidarity necessary to bring about far-reaching cultural changes to ensure a sustainable future for the planet.

Cormac Cullinan is an honorary research associate of the University of Cape Town and founding member of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature. He led the drafting of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth which was proclaimed on 22 April 2010 by the People’s World Conference in Bolivia, and in April 2011 he addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations on the Universal Declaration.

Co-presented with the Sydney Law School , the Environmental Humanities Group and the Human Animal Research Network , University of Sydney. Chaired by Professor Rosemary Lyster , Director, Australian Centre for Climate and Environmental Law , Sydney Law School

Event details

What: Earthrights: Reframing Society for the 21st Century

When: 5.30 to 7pm, Friday 23 September

Where: Auditorium 101, New Law Building, Camperdown Campus. See map and directions

Cost: This series is free and open to all, with no ticket or booking required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis.