'The Oldest Gods': God-Nature-Ecology-Mankind
'The oldest gods: Should we return to the gods of nature?'
Hilary Lawson, Melanie Challenger, Tim Palmer, Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes. September 2021, Kenwood House, London: HowTheLightGetsIn festival.
'From Greece’s Gaia to the Hindu Prithvi, many cultures have seen the Earth as a divine being. Christianity and Western culture however removed god from nature deriding such outlooks as 'pagan'. The earth was recast as a resource for humans, to be conquered, settled and tamed. Now it seems the tides may be changing again. Rivers and rainforests are being given legal rights and some philosophers go further arguing that the planets of the solar system should too. Nature it would seem is the new god.
Might re-embracing Mother Earth be just what we need to prevent environmental catastrophe and self-annihilation? Or is the return to the gods of nature a dangerous step that undermines human goals and values and threatens a return to superstition and fate?
The Panel
Psychedelic philosopher Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes, internationally-renowned climate scientist Tim Palmer, and author-broadcaster-podcaster Melanie Challenger test each other's beliefs about nature and god. Hosted by philosopher Hilary Lawson
This video was recorded at the Institute of Art and Ideas' annual philosophy and music festival HowTheLightGetsIn. For more information and tickets, visit https://howthelightgetsin.org'