Another Path to Enlightenment: Follow the Plants

On Sunday, November 1, the Thinking Forest Foundation will host internationally renowned philosopher Michael Marder at Estate Welna in Epe. Under the title Another Path to Enlightenment: Follow the Plants, he will speak in the heart of the forest about how the life of plants can influence our thinking.

Marder argues that plants have their own way of thinking: headless, centerless, and fully interconnected with their environment. Anyone who examines this closely will begin to rethink themselves. The lecture will be followed by a group walk across the estate past the artworks realized in recent years through Thinking Forest's annual art commission.

Michael Marder is an IKERBASQUE Research Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of the Basque Country (EHU), Vitoria-Gasteiz. His writings span the fields of ecological theory, phenomenology, and political thought. His most recent books include The Phoenix Complex (2023), Time Is a Plant (2023, with Edward S. Casey), Plants in Place (2024), Eco-Freud (2025), Metamorphoses Reimagined (2025, with Anaïs Tondeur), Fiori di fuoco (2025), and Of Joints and Other Articulations (2026). More information at michaelmarder.org.

Program

The program begins with a lecture by Marder, followed by time for questions. Afterward, the group will head into the forest together with Marder. Walking along the beech avenue, we will pass the artworks created as part of Thinking Forest’s annual art commission: the installation On a Trajectory Through a Maze of Trajectories (2024) by founder Gerbrand Burger, and Resonance Field (2025) by Germaine Kruip—a sound work featuring specially tuned bells worn by the sheep herd that regularly grazes on Welna (presence of the herd subject to change). The walk takes approximately an hour and a half, allowing time for conversation, reflection, and interaction with Welna's forest landscape. As night falls, we will return to the tipi for drinks and snacks by the fire.

14:30 – 15:00: Doors open / Arrival

15:00 – 15:30: Another Path to Enlightenment: Follow the Plants – Lecture by Michael Marder

15:30 – 16:00: Q&A

16:00 – 17:30: Forest Walk – Follow the Plants

17:30 – 18:00: Closing drinks

18:00: Expected end

Interested in attending? Let us know by signing up via the following link:

Eventbrite Tickets