Sustainability and Integral Ecology in Business and Law
Call for short papers, deadline – 15 November 2024 | Conference – July 1-2, 2025
“Hosted by the Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Business at the University of St. Thomas (MN) and la Universidad de Piura (Peru).
In honor of the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’s ecological encyclical Laudato Si: On Care for the Common Home, we wish to study the implications of “integral ecology” on business and law. This encyclical introduced the term integral ecology into official Catholic social teaching, calling for an awareness of the interconnectedness between humans and nature. This new paradigm challenges our understanding of humanism. Based on the belief in the Creator, integral ecology appeals to our sense of ecological justice and spirituality regarding creation beyond the duty to exercise stewardship for nature.
New models in economics, business management, law, and politics are currently taking shape. In this symposium, we aim to address the legal, philosophical, theological, and spiritual underpinnings of the paradigmatic changes towards nature expressed in the notion “integral ecology.” Human ecologies – the societies in which we evolve – and natural ecologies cannot be dissociated. Poverty and environmental degradation are mirror-forms of ecological attritions we must consider together. This puts the metaphysics and spiritualities with which people envision their connections with nature at the forefront of our discussions. Most questions are complicated and need to be conscientiously addressed, because only a relative harmonization, respectful of metaphysical pluralism, can pragmatically contribute a safeguard for our common home.
Religions add depth and purpose to sustainability and sustainable development goals by adding a foundation in God. Catholic social thought uses the term “integral ecology” for sustainability. Integral ecology includes the human ecology of faith, family, and the poor. Further, it defines our relationship and commitment to nature in business and law.
We invite papers that explore the theme of our conference (see subject tracks on the following page). Please send a 500-700 word proposal that includes a thesis or purpose statement and an outline of the paper as well as a one-paragraph biography that includes institutional position and affiliation, recent publications, research interest, and practical experience. Eligible papers and presentations must be in English or Spanish. Papers must be presented personally by at least one of the authors at the conference. Paper submissions are due by November 15, 2024.”
