Please join us for this philosophy as a way of life-inspired walk on Saturday, September 14th from 10am-1pm where we’ll be exploring “virtue & ethics: from ecology to ethics.”

Meeting/Hike Location: Beattie Street Trailhead (for Mount Ascension Park).

Special guest speaker/philosopher-on-trail Philosopher & Merlin Senior Mentor to Fellowship Scholars, David Nowakowski.

The ancient Greeks, who coined the word “virtue,” taught that virtue is an excellence, a paradigm, an example or model to aspire to. What would it mean for us to look for this kind of model, using the tools of modern ecology? In particular:

— How do the patterns of nature provide a guide for living?

— How can an ecological perspective help us to focus and direct our lives—not only as we engage with plants and other animals, wild places, or “the environment,” but especially in our human relationships, and in cultivating ourselves?

— How can the tools of ecology help us to understand ourselves, and to live a virtuous (excellent, flourishing) life?

— What does it mean to think about human life, and about virtue, as an ecologist would?

To approach these questions, we will examine five basic principles: whole systems, resource flows, dynamic balance, limits, and evolutionary processes. We will observe these principles in the patterns of nature, and discuss how we might apply them in everyday life.

No background in philosophy or ecology to participate. Open to all ages. FREE/$5 suggested donation. To learn more & sign-up for our free meandering, visit: https://merlinccc.org/philosophy-walks/