“Nature in culture, culture in nature”

It is quite common to draw a distinction between nature and culture – it helps people to distinguish themselves from other species. While doing so, the obvious may be forgotten: people are a part of nature and the human society is merely a variation of nature. It is strange to think that on the outside, humanity seems to be moving further away from nature, even though scientific discoveries show that making a distinction between humans and other species is not so easy. For instance, certain parts of the dolphin’s brain are more complicated than that of a human – they allows dolphins to use a sound-based communication system that could be called a language and to call each other by name. So what makes us so different from other species? Is it even necessary to distinguish us from others? Perhaps we have moved too far from other life forms in our thinking when it allows us to use animals in our food and beauty industry and medical science without scruples, causing them agony to decrease our own? The effect of nature on culture and of culture on nature will be discussed by folklorist Marju Kõivupuu, poet and philosopher Hasso Krull and artist Peeter Laurits.

Location: great hall