May 18 — 29, 2009
Fritjof Capra, Stephan Harding
Addressing the ever more complex problems facing us today requires a systemic and multi-disciplinary approach. This course brings together natural, cognitive and social science to develop an understanding of the world based on the unity of life.
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Fritjof Capra will begin by discussing the work of the Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci who practised a unique synthesis of art, science and technology and will demonstrate its relevance to our time. In the second week, participants will consider more modern concepts of living networks and Gaia theory. How can this way of understanding the world help to re-shape the process of globalisation to make it compatible with the demands of human dignity and ecological sustainability?
This course is intended for: all those with an interest in the world around us and in particular trans-disciplinary sciences: scientists, designers, students, educators and other interested individuals. Specialist scientific knowledge is not required for this course but a willingness to explore is.
Week 1: Learning From Leonardo
Leonardo da Vinci , the great master painter and genius of the Renaissance, developed and practised a unique synthesis of art, science, and technology. In this first week of the course, Fritjof Capra will discuss various branches of Leonardo’s science that are still poorly understood — including his fluid dynamics, geology, and botany — and will emphasize the great relevance of Leonardo’s legacy to our time. As we recognize that our sciences and technologies have become increasingly narrow in their focus, unable to understand our multi-faceted problems from an interdisciplinary perspective, and dominated by corporations more interested in financial rewards than in the well-being of humanity, we urgently need a science and technology that honor and respect the unity of all life, recognize the fundamental interdependence of all natural phenomena, and reconnect us with the living Earth. What we need today is exactly the kind of synthesis Leonardo da Vinci outlined 500 years ago.
Week 2: A Science for Sustainable Living
Please note: Monday 25th May is a Bank Holiday in the UK however teaching on week two of this course will start as usual on the Monday and run through until the afternoon of Friday 29 May.
As our new century unfolds, there are two developments that will have a decisive impact on the future of humanity: the rise of global capitalism and the creation of sustainable communities. These two movements are currently on a collision course. In this second week of the course, Fritjof Capra will introduce a unified systemic understanding of life, based on the concept of living networks, to discuss how globalization can be reshaped to make it compatible with the demands of human dignity and ecological sustainability.
Stephan Harding will introduce Gaia theory and explore how this systemic way of understanding the biosphere affects our relationship to the natural world and each other.
Fritjof Capra physicist and systems theorist, is a founding director of the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley. He is the author of several international bestsellers, including The Tao of Physics, The Web of Life, and The Hidden Connections. His latest book, The Science of Leonardo, was published in 2007 by Doubleday in the U.S. and by Rizzoli in Italy.
Stephan Harding is Programme Co-ordinator of the MSc in Holistic Science at Schumacher College. He is a close associate of James Lovelock and an expert in the study of Gaia theory and deep ecology. He is the author of Animate Earth.
For businesses: One week £1,200, Two weeks £1,800
For individuals, NGOs, Educational & Public Sector Organisations: One week £700, Two weeks £1,300
All course fees include accommodation, food, field trips and all teaching sessions.
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Discounts
10% for residents of South West England
20% with five or more people coming from the same organisation on the same course
The ‘Spring Deal’ does not apply to this course.
(only one discount applicable per booking)
For further information about Schumacher College please see About the College
To provisionally reserve a place for 5 days, email us your contact details and the name of the course admin@schumachercollege.org.uk
We will hold the place for five working days for reservations – three weeks before a course or earlier. After five days we will automatically offer your place to someone else if we have not received your application.
