Open Lecture: Sergio Dávila “Biosemiotics, Otherness, and the Ontological Turn”

On November 4 at 16:00 in room A101, Sergio Dávila will give a public lecture titled “Biosemiotics, Otherness, and the Ontological Turn”. The lecture is part of the Faculty of Design’s public lecture series “Public Lectures in Design: Adjusting Perspectives,” curated by Stella Runnel and Taavi Hallimäe.

Humanity faces a profound ecological and civilizational crisis that is not only environmental but also symbolic and ontological. Modern urban development and governance, driven by extractivist logics and capital accumulation, have treated the living world as a backdrop for human progress, erasing reciprocity with other forms of life. This prevailing anthropocentric worldview, placing humans and the economy at the center, has led to climate breakdown, biodiversity loss, and social alienation. In contrast, an alternative ecocentric paradigm is germinating, one that seeks not dominance but coexistence.

Biophilic governance is proposed as a framework for this transformative shift. Biophilic denotes an orientation of deep interdependence and care among all life, while governance here refers not merely to institutions and laws but to the collective practices, rituals, and decisions that shape our relationships with the living world. Biophilic governance is, in essence, a politics of making-with Earth, a practice of coexistence that extends care, communication, and even representation beyond the human realm. It aligns with Donna Haraway’s notion of sympoiesis (“making-with”) and Escobar’s call for ontological design, both of which advocate redefining human–nature relations in terms of interdependence rather than domination. It resonates as well with Bayo Akómoláfé’s provocative call for an “ontological mutiny,” a rebellion at the level of being, through which humanity might unlearn its delusions of separateness and experiment with new forms of earthly belonging.

This talk will be a place for sharing ideas about the spirit of our era. A positive view as a stand of resistance against cynicism, ecological anxiety, and despair. Participants will review some cases of biophilic governance and then be guided to develop their own public policies, strategies, actions, and proposals for public space as radical collaboration with other earth-beings.

The public lectures are open to students, faculty, as well as anyone else interested in design!

Sergio Dávila is a PhD candidate in Urban Studies at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Mexico City and an exchange researcher at the Estonian Academy of Arts. His work explores how cities can become spaces of coexistence between humans and other species through biophilic design, participatory processes, and creative governance. As a researcher, teacher, and frequent conference speaker, Sergio bridges design, ecology, and politics to imagine more-than-human futures for our urban environments.