What we’re about
Purpose: an in-person discussion to engage with works coming out of the progress movement.
Context: For an introduction to progress studies or the progress movement, see Why Study Progress, We Need a New Philosophy of Progress, We Need a New Science of Progress or more resources.
Frequency: 2x / month - schedule for the remainder of 2024 is TBA shortly.
Participation: no prior engagement with progress studies/community/movement is necessary or expected. The discussion will assume shared interest in progress, humanism, and agency, though we expect varied views on the meaning of those ideas, and on their pursuit or implementation. We seek respectful, constructive dialogue and argument grounded in thoughtful analysis.
Meeting content: introductions, summary of reading, initial reactions to the work, in depth discussion of key points
Upcoming events (1)
See all- Environment (Round 1)Lazarus Brewing (upstairs), Austin, TX
When: 6:30 PM on Wednesday Dec. 4th
Where: the 'Lazarus Library' - upstairs at Lazarus Brewing on Airport at 4803 Airport Blvd, Austin, TX 78751 (google maps, apple maps)
Readings (2 very short, 2 medium, +1 optional):
Should we "go against nature"? - Jason Crawford (600 words)
The Environment as Infrastructure - Jason Crawford (400 words)
Ode to Man - Jason Crawford (4k words)
An Eco-Modernist Manifesto - multiple authors (4.9k words)
Optional: The dawn of the age of geoengineering - Eli Dourado (3.6k words)These readings focus on how we think about nature, human beings, and our environment(s) and are intended to set the stage for (many) subsequent discussions of sub-topics or adjacencies. The material may be more abstract than other/prior readings (contra e.g. the history of steel), but is broadly and deeply relevant to more concrete historical case studies or possible future trajectories (such as the one outlined in Eli Dourado's optional piece).
Discussion: We'll work through each reading, starting with a group summary. Expect a small discussion - if more than 8 or 10 people show, we will split into smaller circles for a portion of the time to ensure quality of dialogue and participation.
Additional reading:
- Seaflooding: The Surprising Solution to Mitigate Climate Change, Create More Life, and Grow the Economy, Tomas Pueyo, 2023
- You can find more writings on environment and sub-topics expressly under the progress studies umbrella on this resources page, via the Breakthrough Institute, or at IFP.
- The readings above should all clearly convey relative positioning to contemporary environmental thought. However, for more explicit examples of philosophical contrast / opposing schools of thought, you might look at the writing of Donna Haraway, e.g. Anthropocene, Capitalocene, Plantationocene, Chthulucene: Making Kin (1600 words), or other biocentrist or ecocentrist authors.
