The Elev8 Ethics Podcast

S1E3: Plant Ethics and the More-than-Human World with Dr. Katherine Brelje

Today we’re talking with Dr. Kate Brelje, an environmental philosopher and professor at James Madison University. Kate's current research is rooted in feminist philosophy and environmental ethics with a focus on care ethics and plant life. 
For some of us plants aren’t the first thing that comes to mind when we’re asked about ethical decision-making or our own moral perception. Dr. Brelje’s research offers us all a chance to reconsider our relationship with the more-than-human world by considering our experiences with the plants we encounter.
If you have ever enjoyed a plant, consumed a vegetable, or walked through a forest just for fun, this episode is for you.
 
Read Dr. Brelje
https://www.pdcnet.org/eip/content/eip_2023_0999_5_24_16
https://www.jmu.edu/philrel/people/brelje-katherine.shtml

S1E2: Ethics and the More-Than-Human World with Steven David Johnson

Steven David Johnson is an award winning conservation photographer and Professor of Visual and Communication Arts at EMU in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. His photography of the natural world has appeared in Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Nature Conservancy Magazine, Ranger Rick, Virginia Wildlife, Biographic, Orion, National Science Teachers Association Press books, and numerous conservation publications and journals. 
 
 
 
Resources:  
Martin Buber “I and Thou” 
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/buber/ 
  
Mammal biomass stats: 
https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/17788/how-much-of-earths-biomass-is-affected-by-humans/  
 
On phones, social media and evolution: 
Why is My Phone So Addictive?  
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-neurochemical-self/201709/why-is-my-phone-so-addictive 
  
Laura Marris - The Age of Loneliness  
https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/age-loneliness 
  
Ed Yong - An Immense World 
https://edyong.me/an-immense-world 
  
Robin Wall Kimmerer  on the Language of Animacy 
https://orionmagazine.org/article/robin-wall-kimmerer-language-animacy/ 
  
  
Thomas Nagel - What Is It Like to Be a Bat 
https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Nagel_Bat.pdf 
  
  
Photos: 
Photo of hatching spotted salamander 
https://www.stevendavidjohnson.com/portfolio/vernalpools?itemId=9w5tm5s1x99vvarfklmgz6n764v30c 
  
Photos of encounters with river otters 
https://www.stevendavidjohnson.com/riverine/otter 
  
Project ceti 
https://www.projectceti.org 
  
NYU MOTH project 
https://mothrights.org/ 
  
More than Human Rights: An Ecology of Law, Thought and Narrative for Earthly Flourishing 
https://mothrights.org/more-than-human-rights-an-ecology-of-law-thought-and-narrative-for-earthly-flourishing/ 
  
Roger Payne whale song story found in Tom Mustill’s book - How to Speak Whale 
https://www.tommustill.com/how-to-speak-whale 
  
David Abram - The Spell of the Sensuous 
https://www.davidabram.org/books 
 
Mike Hayslett, Virginia Vernal Pools expert
https://www.virginiavernalpools.com/about-us
 
Steven David Johnson Conservation Photography  
stevendavidjohnson.com 
  
Conservation Photography at EMU 
https://emu.edu/vaca/conservation-photography 
  
Shenandoah Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society 
https://vnps.org/shenandoah/ 
  
Homegrown National Park 
https://homegrownnationalpark.org 
  
Virginia Wilderness Committee and Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area 
https://www.vawilderness.org/shenandoah-mountain.html 
 
 

S1E1: Meet the Ethical Reasoning Educators

In this episode, you’ll meet the Ethical Reasoning Educators: A group of student volunteers with experience using JMU’s original ethical reasoning strategy, the Eight Key Questions.