TITLE: The Folklore Behind Ecology, or Why Scientists in Ecology Need Help from Folklorists
SPEAKER: Daniel B. Botkin
EVENT DATE: 04/05/2006
RUNNING TIME: 71 minutes
DESCRIPTION:
Our laws, policies and the fundamental scientific ideas about nature derive from ancient myths and modern folklore. We "save" endangered species and manage our natural resources based on beliefs about a balance of nature that never existed and is continually disproved by scientific observations, but strangely still forms much of the basis of the science of ecology. In his Benjamin Botkin Lecture sponsored by the American Folklife Center, Daniel Botkin addresses his view on how this came about, and why folklorists need to open a dialogue with environmental scientists.
Speaker Biography: Daniel Botkin is a scientist who studies life from a planetary perspective, a biologist who has helped solve major environmental issues and a writer about nature. A frequent public speaker, Botkin brings an unusual perspective to his subject. His books and lectures show how our cultural legacy often dominates our perceptions and beliefs about scientific solutions to environmental problems. Botkin has been a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, since 1979, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the American Folklife Center. He is the son of Benjamin A. Botkin.
Related Webcasts
SERIES: Benjamin Botkin Lecture Series
