Forskning på tapeten med Patrik Baard, 28 oktober

Vad fick dig att forska just om klimat/miljöperspektivet?

I klimatförändringar och det omfattande artutdöendet konfronteras vi med flera filosofiska frågor, bortsett från att det även är två områden där våra beslut kan få omfattande konsekvenser.

De filosofiska frågorna rör delvis kunskap, som hur vi kan handla under osäkerhet, men även normativa.

Det vill säga, frågorna som väcks rör saker som rättvisa och värden. Hur ska en eventuell rätt att få släppa ut växthusgaser fördelas globalt när vi vet att det bara är en begränsad mängd som bör släppas ut för att undvika farliga klimatförändringar? Hur bör framtida generationer inkluderas i sådana beslut? Vilka värden har andra arter? Vilka skäl motiverar starkare miljöskydd?

Artikeln som jag kommer presentera kombinerar både mitt intresse för klimaträttvisa, och miljöetik. Närmare bestämt så tittar artikeln på olika alternativ och utvärderar huruvida dessa är konsekventa med principer för klimaträttvisa, och miljöetiska principer. Intressant nog så är dessa inte alltid överens.

Mitt forskningsintresse av dessa två utmaningar motiveras delvis av dess samhälleliga, ekonomiska, och miljömässiga omfattning, men också hur de väcker intressanta och stimulerande filosofiska utmaningar.

What else, apart from other sources of research, has inspired you in your writing process and as a researcher? Fiction, art, music, films?

Books:
Includes classics such as ’Walden’ by Henry David Thoreau, and ‘The Sand County Almanac’ by Aldo Leopold, both of which has inspired many environmental ethicists.

More recent works, I would like to mentioned ‘The Philosopher and The Wolf’ by Mark Rowlands. In fiction, I think ‘Bewilderment’ as well as ‘The Overstory’ by Richard Powers are both two very fine works, that contains many important insights about our place in the environment and, with regards to Bewilderment, our place in the wider scope of things.

Music:
I often listen to music when I work, mostly classical. Many of the works of Philip Glass, especially the soundtrack to Koyaanisqatsi, might be mentioned here for its relevance to environmental themes, as well as his opera Satygraha. ‘On the nature of daylight’ by Max Richter is another favorite. Perhaps Patti Smith’s ‘These are the words’ also merits a mention for its Franciscan themes and calls for humility. Otherwise I listen to a lot of music, Robert Wyatt is a favorite (such as ‘Shipbuilding’), but many more, too many, can be mentioned having, in different ways, inspired the conjunction of social concerns and thoughtful consideration of different aspects.

Art:
Though an avid visitor to art exhibitions, and while they may say a lot about the human condition, it is not always easy to find nature included and portrayed.

One of my favorite works is by Ivan Aivazovsky, called The ninth wave. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ninth_Wave It reveals the immense power of, what could be called, nature.

Another very interesting art project is Pinar Yoldas ‘An Ecosystem of Excess’: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Ecosystem_of_Excess

Yoldas very clearly relate to ecological problems in her work. To her, the work ‘An Ecosystem of Excess’ begins with the question ‘if life evolved from our current, plastic-debris-filled oceans, what would emerge?’, and the answers are both interesting and somewhat ghastly.

Movies:
This one is more difficult to answer, especially if excluding documentaries or such (and regarding documentaries I prefer to go directly to the research in such cases). I find that quite few films inspire my research, unfortunately. Perhaps the already mentioned Koyaanisqatsi.