During Thursday\u2019s talk, McCarthy will discuss how clear evidence of human impact as early as the 13th century has shaped the course of history, while also emphasizing it is the culmination of human impacts that overwhelmed and permanently altered the Earth system during the \u2018Great Acceleration\u2019 of the mid-20th century.<\/p>\n
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Brock Professor of Philosophy Christine Daigle and Director of the Posthumanism Research Institute will address philosophical questions triggered by the Anthropocene in the upcoming talk.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cThe initiative to define the Anthropocene as a geologic epoch has implications well beyond the Earth sciences, and the selection of Crawford Lake as the proposed GSSP (\u2018golden spike\u2019) location underscores this,\u201d McCarthy said.<\/p>\n
The talk will explore the indicators that have triggered the new epoch, drawing on the scientific evidence preserved in the unique sediments of Crawford Lake.<\/p>\n
But, as noted by McCarthy and Daigle, in addition to defining the Anthropocene itself, humans must now consider how to live<\/em> in the Anthropocene, and most importantly, reflect on what can be learned from the scientific evidence and how it can shape human behaviour moving forward.<\/p>\n This is of particular interest to Daigle, an expert in existentialist philosophy and feminism whose research in recent years has focused on the notion of environmental vulnerabilities, including philosophical questions about the Anthropocene and the concept of extinction.<\/p>\n \u201cLearning about the Anthropocene scientifically also triggers philosophical questions about human responsibility toward the Earth systems and all living beings \u2014 urgent questions in this ongoing environmental crisis,\u201d Daigle said.<\/p>\n