Why do people have such trouble responding proactively to the most urgent social and ecological issues of our time? “Apathy” is not the reason. In this lecture and discussion, we dismantle the most common misconception—that apathy indicates lack of concern. In its place, we reveal a key truth: people care so much that they are often overwhelmed and paralyzed by their perceived powerlessness to make things better. Drawing on psychosocial theory and methodologies, we will consider new framework for how we think about apathy, denial, and other defense mechanisms, and offers tools for people to work through their own overwhelm. We’ll look at the dominant approaches used for understanding engaging people around ecological challenges, and look at ways to engage, inspire, and mobilize people of diverse backgrounds and orientations. 

Lunch will be provided.

This event is sponsored by the Yale Center for Business and the Environment and hosted by the Yale F&ES Climate Change Student Interest Group.