for the newspaper
STEVENS POINT – The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point will celebrate 50 years of environmental ethics education this month with an event featuring American philosopher J. Bird Callicott.
“Fifty Years of Environmental Ethics at UWSP” will be held on Wednesday, April 5, 4-5:30 p.m., in the University of Dreyfuss Laird Room, 1015 Reserve Street, Stevens Point.
The Department of Philosophy at UW-Stevens Point was the first in the country to offer a course on environmental ethics, taught by Callicott in 1971.
Callicott will present the keynote, “Thinking Like a Planet: Earth Ethics and Earth Ethics,” a discussion-reflections on Aldo Leopold’s past, present, and future thought.
From UW-Stevens Point, Callicott has become a national voice and advocate for Aldo Leopold’s Earth Ethic and its response to global climate change.
His talk will be followed by a panel discussion on the history of environmental ethics courses and programs at UW-Stevens Point and will include: Jason Zinser, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at UW-Stevens Point; Chris Diehm, Professor of Philosophy at UW-Stevens Point; Michael Nelson is Professor of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy at Oregon State University. Brenda Lucky, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at UW-Stevens Point; and Bob Ramlow, a UW-Stevens Point graduate and founding member of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association
Callicott Distinguished University Research Professor Emeritus and Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Texas.
He is co-editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy and author and editor of numerous books and journal articles on environmental ethics and philosophy.