Interdisciplinary Student Symposium: "OUR FUTURE: Moving Society from Ego-centrism to Eco-centrism"

The current economies and societal norms around the world place significant emphasis the individual;an individual estranged from Nature and the ecosystems within which they live. This separation, this ego-centrism, is a root cause of many of the problems we are encountering today. Eco-centrism operates on the premise that ecosystems possess inherent legal rights—shifting nature from a piece of property to a rights-bearing entity. This premise, that Nature has the same kind of inherent rights to exist and flourish that humans have, echoes the ancient knowledge of those most connected to Nature. In this symposium we will first explore the variety of approaches encompassed by Earth Law and then how to apply them in the context of business, professional responsibility, and economics.