Episode Details

Many cultures maintain that we are not born human but that we may become fully human through cultivation and care. Could it be that our destructive tendencies are not because of our human-ness, but rather due to a lack of it? If so: where and how can we cultivate our humanity? All species play their part in the living web – what role might we humans have to play in this unfolding drama?

Mikael Kurkiala is a cultural anthropologist and author. He spent many years living and working with the Oglala Lakota people of South Dakota, and is currently a researcher at the Swedish Church Office. His most recent books are "When the Soul Goes into Exile: Modernity, Technology & the Sacred“ and “Where the Pendulum has its Base: On the Eternal in Humans”.

This conversation was recorded with a lovely audience at the Uppsala Public Library in Sweden, December 2024. 

It's one of three public conversations we hosted 2023-2024 as part of a series of events exploring the concept of ‘life-force’. You’ll find all three episodes (26, 27 & 28) at forestofthought.com or on your podcast listening platform. 

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Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at ⁠⁠stoneproduction.no⁠⁠.