The Weight of Evidence By Teya Brooks Pribac The late neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp would remind people that science doesn’t give us proofs and certainties but only the weight of evidence. The weight of evidence in his field of inquiry suggested that other-than-human animals are conscious beings, and that this consciousness Read more
What, If Anything, Is De-Extinction? By Lisa H. Sideris The prospect of developing genetic technologies that aim to “bring back” extinct species is met with palpable excitement by some members of the scientific community and the broader public. De-extinction inspires a sense of optimism, a hopeful storyline to counter relentlessly Read more
Tis that Season, Again: Gifts, Hospitality and Giving Thanks By Whitney A. Bauman If you are like me, the thought of the holidays brings both joy and terror: the joy of being around those you love (biological and/or chosen family), the parties, and all of the eating seem to be Read more
Indigenous Cosmovision Challenges Us to Move from Restoring to “Re-storying” Ecosystems By Daniel Bryan Recently, I accompanied a Humans for Abundance team to the community of Mushullakta with master ecosystem restorer, Omar Tello. In a workshop on interconnecting cultural traditions to ecosystem restoration, we defined the community’s ecosystem as a Read more
“Feral” Mappings: Entanglements, Multiplicity, Thinking with the Planet By Whitney A. Bauman Perhaps most readers know and assent to the idea that “the map is not the territory.” But, do we actually live as if that were true? On a daily basis, I take maps to be reality: google maps Read more
Seeds of Connection, Seeds of Change: Botanical Folktales for Ecological and Relational Storytelling By Anna Perdibon “Plants prepare for the winter through fruits and seeds, and through discarding what they don’t need. The clearing-out begins,” writes Lisa Schneidau in her collection of botanical folktales. Every year autumn for me is Read more
Blue Religion By Justine M. Bakker “Based on my extremely blurry and perhaps unreliable recollection that he once told me so,” writes David Chidester in his contribution to With This Root About My Person, a recently published collection of essays dedicated to Charles H. Long,, “I have reason to believe Read more
Political Counterpoint — for the Election and Beyond By Catherine Keller Counterpoint: now there’s an inviting metaphor for political engagement! Imagine politics as a music of diversity, of contrasts effecting a vibrant complexity, a perspectival interplay that comes to the edge of contradiction but then enfolds the tension in a Read more
Point / Counterpoint: A Debate about Islamophobia, Christophobia, and Religious Freedom This week, we publish another example of “Point / Counterpoint” discussions on the Blog. Klemens Ludwig starts with his take on Islamophobia and Christophobia; Rachel Woodlock then responds to his claims from her point of view. Point: Islamophobia? Christophobia? Read more
Do Better than Barmen: “Say Our Names” By Anna Mercedes Shortly after 9/11, 2001, I was in graduate school studying theology just outside of New York, and much of my theological analysis was turned toward “empire.” The imperial might of America’s political and military power had me raising my theological Read more