Challenging Time: Reading against climate madness

In 2009, ecologist John Waldman wrote that global weirding ‘describes the consequences of the rise in average global temperatures, which are expected to amplify the abnormal: hotter heat spells, longer and sharper droughts, more violent storms, and more intense flooding.’ Yet, this weirdness not only manifests in the unpredictability and unstability of the Earth’s ecosystems, but also travels to our societies, social structures and psyches. 

This reading circle, organised in collaboration with Mario Veen and Future Based, explores the philosophy of time as a therapy for climate madness and global weirding. Building further on the concept of ‘timefulness’, as coined by Marcia Bjornerud, the reading circle reaches out to various disciplines ranging from media studies to biochemistry, to pedagogy to the rule of law, in order to explore how changing our perception of time could help us navigate the climate crisis. 

The reading circle is part of an ongoing project by Mario Veen, in which he reads and reviews a book each month related to climate madness and timefulness on Future Based: an interdisciplinary philosophy platform. During the sessions, participants will discuss selected excerpts from several books. It is not mandatory to have read these books, yet we do encourage you to read the reviews of these books by Mario Veen, which are listed below.