Species are disappearing today at a staggering rate. While many people are aware of this fact, it often does not seem to register in a meaningful way. Drawing on a collection of stories of critically endangered species from around the world, this lecture by Thom van Dooren – University of Sydney professor and winner of the 7th BBVA Foundation Biophilia Award in Environmental Humanities and Social Sciences – will explore some of the many important roles that the humanities might play in better understanding and responding to our current period of escalating biodiversity loss. At the heart of Professor van Dooren’s work is an effort to do philosophy in the field: to think closely through complex empirical contexts in a way that draws the natural sciences into dialogue with the humanities and social sciences, through in-depth ethnographic work with local communities. In particular, the lecture will highlight the value and importance of a multispecies approach to both ethics and storytelling as a way of better understanding, communicating, and working through the many complex ethical demands that we face at the edge of extinction, including obligations to conserve endangered species, to safeguard the wellbeing of individual animals, and to respect the rights and livelihoods of local human communities.

The lecture will be delivered following Professor Van Dooren’s reception of the Biophilia Award.