David Crookall
Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, France
Title: Learning experience and geoethics for human and natural sustainability
Biography
Biography: David Crookall
Abstract
Our early life experience has a strong influence on our actions in later life. Humans today are starting to re-learn, collectively,rnhow to treat Earth with the respect that it deserves and that is needed for our offspring to inherit a decent home. However,rnwe still have far to go to instill in people at large the ethics, knowledge and skills necessary to ensure a healthy journey forrnhumanity on spaceship. The experience of early upbringing, schooling and everyday life is probably the only sustainable pathrnfor people to develop a strong desire for ethical behaviour towards their environment. The problem is that the developmentrnof geoethical behaviours is woefully inadequate. My presentation will suggest some practical ways to help communities buildrngeoethical frameworks and strategies to generate tools that guide young people toward more ethical behaviours regardingrntheir environment and their communities. Examples might include: 1. Developing geoethical dimensions of internships, in allrnareas; 2. Designing and testing simulation/games+debriefing, providing a rich affective-cognitive context for grappling withrngeoethical problems; 3. Pressuring governments to make geoethics a central components of all educational programs (in, e.g.,rnhistory, language, business, law, medicine, etc.); 4. Subsidizing environmental-care summer schools for families and teachersrnat all levels; 5. Introducing an academic journal in the area, with my experience of 26 years at the helm of another prestigiousrnjournal. We have an ethical obligation to science and our offspring (future generations), to help the planetary passengers learnrnabout safety on spaceship earth.