Bathsheba Demuth - Do Whales Judge Us? Interspecies History and Ethics

Explore the complex relationship between humans and whales in this thought-provoking lecture by Bathsheba Demuth, Assistant Professor at Brown University. Delve into the environmental history of the Bering Strait and examine the ethical implications of interspecies interactions. Analyze the contrasting approaches to whaling by the Soviet Union and the United States, considering the impact of industrial whaling and the Marxist utopian vision. Investigate the role of technology in whale interactions and the quantitative obsession that drove Soviet whaling practices. Reflect on the work of environmental activists like Paul Watson and Greenpeace, and contemplate the inverted politics of industrial production. Conclude by considering the broader implications of human-whale relationships in the context of the Anthropocene era, challenging our understanding of interspecies ethics and environmental history.