5.21 Rachael Petersen on Matter, Meaning, and Mind

Forum on Religion and Ecology: Spotlights

Forum on Religion and Ecology: Spotlights
5.21 Rachael Petersen on Matter, Meaning, and Mind
Jul 28, 2025 Season 5 Episode 21
Sam Mickey

This episode features Rachael Petersen, a writer, thinker, and convener. We discuss her life and work at the confluence of philosophy, ecology, and transcendence. As Program Lead of Harvard’s Thinking with Plants and Fungi Initiative, Rachael guides interdisciplinary explorations into how cutting-edge plant science challenges our ideas of mind, matter, and meaning. She holds a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School, where her research centered on panpsychism, pantheism, and the more-than-human world, with a special focus on German philosophy. You can learn more at her personal website: https://www.rachaelnpetersen.com/