Don’t Save the Planet! And Other Lessons from Daoist Philosophy, with James Miller

About this event

The Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life will present "Don't Save the Planet! And Other Lessons from Daoist Philosophy" with James Miller on Nov. 17, 2026, at 5:00mp at UCSB's Henley Hall 1010. This event is free and open to the public.

The trope of “saving the planet” has been a mainstay of popular environmental consciousness since the 1970s onward. But what if trying to save the planet does the opposite of what it aims to achieve? In this lecture, James Miller explains what is wrong with the idea of “saving the planet” and why it has been unhelpful for the global environmental movement. As an alternative, he presents the Daoist philosophical idea of Somatic Ecology as a more hopeful and positive way of thinking about the relationship between human beings and our environment.

James Miller is Professor of Humanities and Associate Dean for Interdisciplinary Initiatives at Duke Kunshan University. A scholar of Chinese religions, with a focus on Daoism and Ecology, he has authored or edited six books including China's Green Religion: Daoism and the Quest for a Sustainable Future (Columbia 2017). He also chairs the Royal Asiatic Society, China, and edits the academic journal Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture and Ecology.

This event is co-sponsored by the Departments of Religious Studies and East Asian Languages & Cultural Studies, the East Asia Center, and the Environmental Studies Program.

https://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/news/dont-save-planet-and-other-lessons-daoist-philosophy-james-miller