Online Zoom Forum: Taoism, Environmental Ethics, and Ecological Wellbeing.
Date: Wednesday 15 October 2025.
Time: 7pm-9pm (UK time).
Event Description:
Format: There will be five talks, each of 12 minutes, followed by discussion among the speakers and the chair, followed by Q & A.
Chair:
Croilán:
Bio: Croilán, initiate of Brigid, apprentice to FiléDia Anam Áire, guardian of the Teachings of the Cauldron and Gutha.
Croilán says "My life is devoted to healing and presence, and I love to serve those who want to deepen into the Cauldron of healing through the aliveness of these experiential teachings. This is a path that challenges and inspires me home to my heart, the place where all that is stirred up is gathered into love.
My background is a contemporary dancer, yoga teacher and therapist. I have integrated 25 years of Shamanic experiencing, Dzogchen (Tibetan Buddhism), Atman teachings (Hinduism/Yoga Philosophy) and I have found my roots in the wisdom and compassion of Celtic Consciousness. SEÁ."
Speakers:
Prof Livia Kohn:
Title: Non-Interference: Daoist Wisdom and Ecology.
Description: Daoists have a deep admiration and close connection to nature. Among the various modern schools of ecology, they resonate most with Deep Ecology: developed by the Norwegian thinker Arne Naess, it focuses on the system of environmental cooperation as a whole and can be described as a form of biospherical egalitarianism or organic holism. Daoists accordingly integrate all natural features, plants and animals, in a comprehensive coexistentialism. Seeing everything as interconnected in a natural pattern of complementarit, Daoists strongly advocate an attitude of non interference to afford a return to organic harmony, to a stable, homeostatic order.
Bio: Livia Kohn, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita of Religion and East Asian Studies at Boston University, where she began teaching in 1988 after spending ten years in Kyoto, Japan. She has written thirty-six sole-authored books and over a hundred articles, translated five works from the German, French, Chinese, and Japanese, and edited twelve multi-authored volumes as well as eighteen issues of the Journal of Daoist Studies. After retiring from university teaching in 2006, she now serves as the executive editor of Three Pines Press and on occasion runs Daoist workshops. For details, see www.threepinespress.com.
Prof Ronnie Littlejohn:
Title: I gazed toward the lofty Kunlun terraces: the Kunlun Myth and Early Daoist Sacred Ecology.
Description: The sacral mythology of Kunlun mountain appears in numerous Daoist texts, poems, hagiographies and cosmological works establishing it as the supreme archetype of a lived cosmic reality. Dwelling on Kunlun is both a mythic and geographical reference. As such, Kunlun stands apart and above Mount Tai, Luofu Mountain, and all others of the Grotto-Heavens. The myth has been used to illumine both Daoist external alchemical traditions and models of the inner landscape of the human being. The Queen Mother of the West resides there and King Mu became an immortal there. In all of its mythological forms, Kunlun is a paradise of purity and balance, in which those who inhabit it find a non-destructive life of transformed sustainable living by their interconnectedness with nature’s ecosystems.
Bio: Ronnie Littlejohn, Ph.D., is Chaney Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Director of Asian Studies at Belmont University. Among his authored works are: Historical Dictionary of Daoism and the Introduction to Daoism (English and Chinese), as well as Chinese Philosophies and Philosophers. His multi-authored edited volumes include: Riding the Wind with Liezi: New Perspectives on the Daoist Classic (English and Chinese) and Polishing the Chinese Mirror: Essays in Honor of Henry Rosemont, Jr. He has published over eighty articles and is Producer of the forthcoming twelve-episode documentary, China’s Perfected Persons.
Na Liang:
Title: What Can Taoist Insights Teach Us About Intervening for a More Ethical and Ecologically Balanced World.
Description: This talk presents early reflections on sustainability transitions from a Taoist-inspired perspective, exploring how Taoist philosophical insights can inform ethical and systemic approaches to ecological wellbeing in transition processes. It reflects on the integration of relational thinking, adaptive harmony, and a deeper understanding of human–nature interconnections into sustainability transition action. By bridging Taoist wisdom and contemporary sustainability challenges, the talk aims to foster dialogue and reflection on culturally grounded and transformative approaches to sustainability.
Bio: Na Liang researches Design for Sustainability Transitions (DfST), Design Education for Sustainability, and transdisciplinary approaches to sustainability. She explores how scientific research and spiritual literacy can complement each other, combining holographic systems thinking and deep ecological literacy from traditional philosophical wisdom with contemporary sustainability challenges. In particular, she investigates how traditional Chinese Taoist systems thinking may be integrated with Western scientific approaches to inform design methods for sustainability transitions, seeking to generate insights and explore methodologies that may contribute—through practice and dialogue—to more ethical and ecologically balanced futures.
Dr Michael Thompson:
Dr Nadine Andrews:
Title: A Personal Perspective on Taoism and Ecological Ethics.
Description: In this talk I will outline how Taoist philosophy and physical arts practice have informed my approach to living in and responding to this age of collapsing social and ecological systems. In particular I will describe how I seek to operationalise the concept of Wu Wei in daily life (which I translate as 'effortless action' when teaching Qi Gong) and explore the tensions and difficulties that can arise, as well as how being in harmony with the Tao shows up for me.
Bio: Dr Nadine Andrews teaches Qi Gong classes in Edinburgh and has practised Taoist physical arts for the past 20 years although her interest in Taoist philosophy extends further back to her early 20s when she first encountered the I Ching, or Book of Changes. Nadine is also a mindfulness and nature connection coach/trainer, qualified mountain leader, and part of the climate psychology and ecopsychology community in the UK. Through my work I aim to help people live in deeper connection and harmony with nature, addressing root causes of the climate and nature crises and contributing towards a more life-friendly world. https://lifefriendly.earth/
An archive recording will be made for the EICSP archive.
NB: There will be no refund if you cancel your booking.
Booking: By Paypal.
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Online Zoom Forum: Taoism, Environmental Ethics, and Ecological Wellbeing, 15 October 2025
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