We know what causes biodiversity loss, i.e. the human activities resulting in overuse and exploitation of nature, climate change, pollution and invasion of alien species. What we seem to focus less on are the reasons beneath the causes – why did we start and continue those activities? What choices and assumptions led to the development of the trampling juggernaut of our current economic system, where it is impossible for a middle-class Westerner to go through a normal day without causing environmental damage? What alternatives could there have been – and more importantly, what kinds of axioms could underpin the creation of such economic systems that would enable us to co-exist with other species, or at least function within the planetary boundaries?

This session calls for discussion about the philosophical and historical crossroads where we chose to build our advances on assumptions that have turned out to lead to a dead-end. Through highlighting the role of axiomatic choices in the past, the aim is to assess the underpinnings of our current systems and start envisioning alternative axioms onto which we can ground more sustainable futures.

We call for e.g. post-structuralist articles exploring the roots of our current predicament or envisioning alternative pasts, presents or futures. For example, how would the economy look like if humans had been viewed as something other than Homo Economicus in the 19th century? How would our society look like if instead of utilitarianism, we had chosen virtue ethics? We welcome papers not only outlining the need for transformation but going deeper into reflecting the fundamental building blocks of both our current unsustainable systems and possible sustainable ones.