Nature’s importance for human well-being has a high media profile and there is a growing call for a deeper, more connected relationship with the animals and plants around us. But what about the past? Does the past matter and what kind of relationship can we have with the creatures of earth’s deep history? What is the ontological status of animals and plants that are only known to us through fossils?  Referring to Goethe’s work on animal and plant archetypes, I will present some of my recent research and discuss the role of “typological thinking” in how we think about and relate to extinct animals.   

Dr Judyth Sassoon, Associate Researcher for the Field Centre; PDRA Palaeobiology, University of Bristol

Venue: The Field Centre

Entrance: £ donation on the door