On March 18th, Colby’s own Philosophy professor Keith Peterson contributed to our lecture series with a presentation titled, “The Past that has never been Present: The Changing Role of the a priori in Philosophical Anthropology.” Professor Peterson began his talk by stating how the philosophical mindset is key to interpreting and solving the current beliefs around environmentalism. I was initially intimidated by what seemed to be the content of this lecture since I am not well versed in philosophical thought. However, the speaker explained how philosophy is a vast understanding and topic which encompasses reality, existence and knowledge. From this, Professor Peterson introduced how the concept of “a priori” is a contributing factor in how the average person creates their understandings, especially concerning climate change and our environment. I have never heard of this concept, but Professor Peterson explained how a priori is a thought which is formed from theoretical deduction prior to observations, as opposed to knowledge which is gained from experience. He looked to explain a priori through a series of examples and how it relates to the notion of prejudice. Professor Peterson elaborated on how prejudices are preconceived notions that are created through an a priori manner, and not supported by a personal experience. I found it interesting how the thoughts formed this way are by a lack of “objective validity,” however this is what influences majority of our basic knowledge. This explains the gaps in fundamental awareness surronding climate change because most people do not have direct experience with the negative impacts which surround this topic and consequently do not have the drive to fix it.