Topic: To Repair Earth, Learn from Trees, Ants, and Diverse Humans!

Presenters: Mary Elizabeth Moore

Cobb Institute Board Member, Dr. Mary Elizabeth Moore, will share her thoughts presented in her keynote address to the International Academy of Practical Theology, in Seoul, Korea in June 2023. The conference focused on practical wisdom in the Anthropocene. Dr. Moore asks, “What do trees, ants, and diverse human communities teach about the natural world and its care? The year 2023 offered the hottest spring and summer on record for the Northern Hemisphere; animals, forests, and people died in shocking numbers in the landmark heat. Such a year is a non-gentle reminder of the urgency of ecological understanding and action. Familiar tropes are no longer adequate to provide guidance. The planet insists that humans face critical questions: how will we deepen our knowing and understanding and how will we find the requisite courage and capacities to protect, heal, and repair the earth and solar system?” She argues that the place to begin is with the non-human natural world and the peoples who live closest to the earth. “In my current work, I turn particularly to trees, ants, and diverse human communities to upturn anthropocentric, individualistic, and industrial-technocratic dominance.”

Mary Elizabeth Moore, is Dean Emeritus of Boston University School of Theology and chair of the Cobb Institute’s Strategic Planning process.

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