About the lecture
This lecture takes its point of departure from the so-called “theological turn” in phenomenology, a field of philosophy that reflects on both theological objects and structures of experience.
Eco-phenomenological interpretations of thinkers like Jean-Luc Marion have suggested that nature is something that “gives” itself to us—abundant, overwhelming, even sacred.
But is that the full picture?
Drawing on the sometimes unsettling work of another figure in this field, Emmanuel Falque, the lecture invites us to consider a different perspective—one that doesn’t just accept the world as a gift, but sees it as something active, messy, and marked by absence and trauma.
Rather than idealizing nature, this view emphasizes its material complexity and our shared vulnerability with it. Instead of dominating or romanticizing the natural world, we need to learn how to live in solidarity with it—embracing its strangeness, its silence, and its wounds.
By thinking deeply about what it means to be both human and part of nature, we might begin to imagine more just and meaningful ways of living together.
About the lecturer
Calvin D. Ullrich (Ph.D. Stellenbosch) is a continental philosopher-theologian working at the intersections of philosophy of religion, political, and public theologies. He is currently Senior Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Theology at the University of the Free State, South Africa. In June he is a guest lecturer at the PThU.
Practical information
The lecture will take place at our building on Jansdam 14 in Utrecht. You are welcome from 5:15 pm for coffee and tea, the lecture itself will start at 5:30 pm. We will end around 6:30 pm.
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