EROSION OF LIFE:  New (2017) Film Presentation and Discussion  [I'm not sure that  the type of session selected -- Discussion Symposium -- is the best fit for film presentations, but the video runs 60 minutes and with 30 minutes of discussion time would probably work well.  However, if there is a film night, it would presumably make more sense to show it in that type of session.]

Film Synopsis

We humans like to define ourselves by what we build, invent or create, but our signature trait may be manifest most clearly by what we destroy. We are architects of the most advanced civilization yet achieved and at the same time we are the leading executioners of nonhuman life, presiding over the first mass extinction since the death of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

Erosion of Life examines the importance of human-animal relationships in understanding broader environmental values, threats, and opportunities, as well as for improving human health and welfare. It applies both science and ethics in understanding species extinction and the precipitous decline in nonlisted wildlife populations, both terrestrial and marine. Using the on-screen perspectives of diverse environmental thinkers -- Dr. Sylvia Earl, marine scientist; Dr. Kathie Jenni, animal ethicist; Narayan, an eco-poet and naturalist; and the filmmaker, who shares his own close encounters with wildlife -- this film explores humanity’s place in the web of life.  In particular, it focuses on the underlying forces of interdependence, empathy, and curiosity that shape our relationships with animals and, by extension, ecosystems.

We celebrate our personal independence but it is our interdependence that makes us human and capable of empathy. Declaring our interdependence means, among other things, expanding our capacity for empathy with animals. Empathy is ultimately about learning how to feel connected to the natural world and to each other. Animals are facilitators and living objects of that learning. As pets, they provide children with early opportunities to practice empathy, often in a spirit of unconditional love.  As wild animals, they introduce a rare and sometimes risky opportunity for interspecies connections that are beyond human design and control. Wildness opens up a world that is not the product of human thought or domination, one that invites us to connect with the great mysteries of life. By encountering beings that have not been reared, tamed, or trained by us, and that do not serve our aims, we have the chance to discover our unique place in the web of life.