Thinking about politics in the Anthropocene

What is it about?

"The Anthropocene" is the unofficial name for the current age characterized by humans becoming a disruptive force at the planetary scale. As the crisis accelerates, the need for taking political action becomes more and more acute. But, given that action should also involve reflection, Western political philosophy is in a real quandary. This is because an important part of this particular tradition is the distinction between politics - or, more generally, the human - and nature - or: other than human. And yet, as humans become a planetary force, the separation is disrupted. Does Western philosophy include any resources that could guide us in navigating the Anthropocene politically? To address this question, the paper starts by exploring the distinction between what Pierre Hadot described the Orphic and the Promethean attitudes to nature. It argues that the two approaches should be combined - and transcended or, better perhaps, supplemented with additional insights. Such insights, it is suggested are provided by the concepts of heterotopia, reflective judgment and wonder.

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Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash