Beastly Passions and Compassionate Conservation: Redecorating Nature, Expanding Our Compassion Footprint, and Rewilding Our Hearts
Friday, July 12 2013, 7:30 p.m.
Scotiabank Auditorium
Marion McCain Building
Dalhousie University
Public Lecture (free admission)
Marc Bekoff launches the Human Animal invitational workshop.
In his presentation Dr. Bekoff will talk about the emotional and moral lives of nonhuman animals (animals) and how they very much care about how we treat them. We "redecorate nature" unrelentingly with little concern about what we're doing to whom, and two ways to stop this unprecedented anthropocentric war on nature is to expand our compassion footprint and to rewild our hearts. We need to be much more proactive because the "putting out the fire" mentality doesn't work very well now and in the future will be much less effective. When people say they're "mad about wildlife" it has two rather different meanings that result in very different ways of choosing to live with the other animals with whom we share our homes. Peaceful coexistence and compassionate conservation should be the goals of how we head into the future. We are basically "good animals" as are other animals, and we need to tap into this innate goodness to help make the lives of all animals - nonhuman and human - better. We live in a magnificent world and need to appreciate that when we harm other animals and their homes we harm ourselves. We suffer the indignities to which we subject other animals. We can always do better and it's easy to do so.
Introduction by Dr. Simon Gadbois, Canid Behaviour Research Team; Psychology & Neuroscience; Neuroscience Institute, Dalhousie University
Marc Bekoff is Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado and a former Guggenheim Fellow. In 2000 he was awarded the Exemplar Award from the Animal Behavior Society for major long-term contributions to the field of animal behavior and in 2009 he was presented with the Saint Francis of Assisi Award by the Auckland (New Zealand) SPCA. Dr. Bekoff has published more than 500 scientific and popular essays and twenty-three books including Minding Animals, The Ten Trusts (with Jane Goodall), The Emotional Lives of Animals, Animals Matter, Animals at Play: Rules of the Game, Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals, The Animal Manifesto: Six Reasons for Expanding Our Compassion Footprint, Ignoring Nature No More: The Case For Compassionate Conservation, Jasper's Story: Saving Moon Bears, and two editions of the Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare, the Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, and the Encyclopedia of Human-Animal Relationships. In 2005 Dr. Bekoff was presented with The Bank One Faculty Community Service Award for the work he has done with children, senior citizens, and prisoners as part of Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots program. His websites are marcbekoff.com and, with Jane Goodall, www.ethologicalethics.org.
Links to magazine articles of interest: