CALL FOR PAPERS
COSMOS AND ECOLOGICAL CONSCIOUSNESS
NOVA School of Law
6-7 July 2022
Free Online International Conference
This conference aims to explore the cosmopolitan dimension of ecological consciousness. This aspect of cosmopolitanism concerns the vision of the universe as a whole, the place that each natural phenomenon occupies in this universe, the relation of the parts between themselves and with the whole universe. This also implies discussing the place that the human being - as one being among others - occupies in this universe and the consequences of its actions, which can be translated into ecological and environmental concerns, and into an aesthetic question. The concept of cosmopolitanism contains the concept of cosmos. But how to conceive the cosmos (organism, machine, network, system, chaos, set of forces) is a controversial issue. Equally controversial is how to conceive the relation of the human being to the cosmos: the cosmos is for some authors world of nature, "object," of which the human being participates as a natural being among others, and not as "subject". For others, the cosmos is unity between subject and object, and the way we say the world depends on how we think and feel. From these questions arise a series of other controversies about the understanding of our place in the universe. For some authors, to understand what the human being is depends on the place of the human being in the universe. Thus, cosmology implies an anthropology, and for some authors also an ethics and even an aesthetics. Several authors consider that the history of mankind can be explained only along with the history of the cosmos. For Kant and A.v. Humboldt, the notion of a common origin of all that exists in the cosmos is inseparable from a conception of humanity and a cosmopolitan worldview.
Modern anthropocentrism, claiming a superiority of the human being over nature, legitimized a destructive mode of production and consumption of nature, considering nature as a mere means for the attainment of human ends. The ecological crisis today reaffirms the interdependence between all natural beings, and the insufficiency of a cosmopolitan theory that does not consider nature. Consumer accountability is often demanded. However, it is also necessary a socio-political structural transformation and the development of a new ecological form of production. This presupposes another way of thinking about the relationship between the human being and nature, and this can imply also the possibility of imputation of individual criminal responsibility to leaders of legal entities in case of environmental crimes (even by omission).
The conception of a superiority of the human being over nature implies as well the devaluation of "beautiful nature." The restitution of the beauty of nature, an aesthetic question, has ethical and political consequences, as restitution of respect and responsibility for nature.
This conference invites contributions exploring from a plurality of perspective the role of the cosmos in a cosmopolitan approach and in formation of an ecological consciousness.
Languages of communication include English, French,
Portuguese and Spanish
The abstract for a 20-minutes presentation has to be submitted by
20 May 2022
by using the 'SUBMIT ABSTRACT HERE' button below.
The list of the selected participants will be posted on the conference website,
section "Participants' on 31 May.