Dr. Chuck Fowler | Holistic Sustainability: A Niche for Humans | 14 May 2025 13:30 EDT| CACOR Live

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Topic: Holistic Sustainability: A Niche for Humans.

Speaker:  Dr. Chuck Fowler

Time: 14 May 2025 at 13:30 Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Summary:

Systemic Thinking is an under-used paradigm. Considering whole systems, in context, is essential for anchoring human activities in reality. Conventional thinking—considering systems in isolation and out of context—is unrealistically simplistic. It preserves the status quo and its pathological consequences: extinctions, climate change, environmental devastation, pollution, mental illness, pandemics, and so on. Rare in modern dialogue, systemic thinking has roots in many philosophical perspectives and wisdom traditions. Learning from other species as role models exemplifies the systemic approach—it aligns our thinking with reality. The right of all beings to be free of pathological human influence is at the core of both the holism of systemic thinking and the conclusion that Homo sapiens should strive to be a normal species of mammal.

Biography:

Dr. Charles Fowler left the family farm in Nebraska, intending to become a Presbyterian Minister. Disillusioned by the apparent detachment from reality, Chuck switched his majors to Biology, Chemistry, and Math. His Master’s work in Alaska was followed by a summer in the jungles of Costa Rica. Chuck earned his PhD at the University of Washington, building a computer model of a small lake. This taught him that reality is infinitely more than artificial models can capture. Chuck served as Program Leader at Seattle’s National Marine Mammal Laboratory, taught at five different universities, as well as represented the US on the North Pacific Fur Seal Commission and the International Whaling Commission. He became painfully aware of how often decision-making and management rely on incomplete thinking. Through the course of his research, over 150 publications and formulating “Fowler’s Rule,” as well as interacting with colleagues and students, Chuck came to realize that other large mammals can serve as holistic role models for sustainability.

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