In the late 1700s, French naturalist Georges Cuvier made a groundbreaking declaration: a previous world had existed, one that may have differed fundamentally from our own. Through his examination of fossil evidence, Cuvier demonstrated that extinction, the permanent loss of entire species, was an inherent natural process. Modern scientists have since identified two distinct extinction mechanisms affecting life on Earth: background extinction, which occurs gradually over millions of years, and catastrophic extinction events, such as the asteroid impact that eliminated the dinosaurs, which can thrust entire ecosystems to the brink of collapse within a remarkably brief timeframe. Over the past decade, scientific consensus has solidified around the recognition that we are currently experiencing a sixth extinction event, this time driven primarily by human actions. As the climate crisis accelerates, biodiversity loss intensifies, creating an immediate threat to ecosystems worldwide and, ultimately, to our own survival and way of life. How can we understand this alarming and rapid disappearance of species within the context of our economic systems and our broader relationship with the natural world?
This course examines the history of extinction theory and analyzes the extinction event unfolding today. We will investigate the scope and underlying causes of biodiversity loss across the planet, spanning from microscopic organisms to large mammals, and evaluate the consequences of this loss for the biosphere as a whole. We will also engage with competing perspectives on what actions should be taken in response to this crisis. Should we pursue technological solutions to resurrect extinct species? What principles should inform our conservation decisions? We will address these critical questions by analyzing scientific literature on biodiversity loss, climate change, and extinction, alongside works by Adrienne Buller, Troy Vettese, Alyssa Battistoni, Annalee Newitz, Elizabeth Kolbert, George Church, and Ed Regis, among others.
