Life in the Posthuman Condition - by S E Wilmer & Audrone Zukauskaite (Paperback)

About the Book

This essay collection reconsiders the notion of life and conceptualizes those forms of life which have been excluded from modern philosophy, such as post-Anthropocene life, the life of non-human animals and the life of inorganic objects.

Book Synopsis

This edited volume reconsiders the notion of life and conceptualizes those forms of life which have been excluded from modern philosophy, such as post-Anthropocene life, the life of non-human animals and the life of inorganic objects.
The contributors, who include prominent contemporary philosophers and theorists ask a wide range of questions including: what new forms of subjection can we see with the return of the 'Anthropos'?, what can animals teach us in the Anthropocene?, can we reconstruct the perceptual world of animals and take a look into their 'subjectivity'?, what happens to inorganic matter (waste or digital objects) when no longer used by any subject and can we think about inorganic matter in terms of subjective self-awareness?
The first section, Life Beyond the Anthropocene, critically questions Anthropocene theory and outlines alternative scenarios, such as Gaia theory or post-Anthropocene forms of life on Earth and other planets, as well as new forms of subjectivity. The second part, Human and Non-Human Interactions, investigates the obscure boundary, between life and non-life, and between human and non-human animal life forms. The third part, Forms of Life and New Ontologies, concentrates on new ontologies and discusses life in terms of vitalism, new materialism, movement, form-taking activity and plasticity.

Review Quotes

A valuable contribution to the ongoing philosophical discourse on posthumanism.--Katri Tanskanen, University of Helsinki "Nordic Theatre Studies"

This is an exciting and innovative collection, composed of both well-known and younger scholars, that explores from various perspectives how life in its complexities and differences, lives in the shadow of climate catastrophe. Both illuminating and alarming, this anthology elaborates a number of strategies for living with, and perhaps alleviating, what is to come on global and local levels. An impressive contribution to an increasingly urgent question.

-- "Elizabeth Grosz, Duke University"

The disciplinary breadth of this new collection should be abundantly clear (...) the volume also acts as a useful reader for those looking for an introduction to posthumanist scholarly themes, and challenges even those readers with expertise or experience in one or several of the areas represented to engage with adjacent disciplinary perspectives.--Jacob Thompson-Bell "Leonardo"