French philosophy today : new figures of the human in Badiou, Meillassoux, Malabou, Serres and Latour

After the humanism/anti-humanism debates of the 1940s and ’50s, and after the ‘death of man’ in the linguistic philosophy of the late twentieth-century, French philosophy today is laying fresh claim to the human. This is not to be mistaken for a return to previous ideas of the human, nor is it posthumanism, strictly speaking. It is a series of fundamentally independent and yet strikingly simultaneous initiatives arising in the writing of diverse French thinkers to transform and rework the figure of the human. This book brings together these new figures of the human for the first time, offering the a critique of this contemporary trend in terms of the three categories: the human as ‘capacity’ (Badiou and Meillassoux), as ‘substance’ (Malabou) and as ‘relation’ (Serres and Latour). Tracing these varied transformations of the human makes visible for the first time one of the most widespread, surprising and potentially transformative trends in contemporary French thought. This book draws out both the promises and perils inherent in today’s attempts to rethink humanity’s relation to “nature” and “culture”, to the objects that surround us, to the possibility of social and political change, to ecology and to our own brains, arguing that the stakes of this project are high for our technologically advanced but socially atomised and ecologically vulnerable world. French Philosophy Today Is Laying Fresh Claim To The Human ... A Series Of Independent, Simultaneous Initiatives, Arising In The Writing Of Diverse Current French Thinkers To Transform And Rework The Figure Of The Human. [the Author] Draws Out Both The Promises And Perils Inherent In These Attempts To Rethink Humanity's Relation To 'nature' And 'culture', To The Objects That Surround Us, To The Possibility Of Social And Political Change, To Ecology And Even To Our Own Brains ... Formalised Inhumanism / Alain Badiou -- Supreme Human Value Meets Anti-anthropocentrism / Quentin Meillassoux -- The Plastic Human / Catherine Malabou -- The Epigenetic Human / Catherine Malabou -- Universal Humanism / Michel Serres -- Translating The Human / Bruno Latour. Christopher Watkin. A comparative critique of the human in Alain Badiou, Quentin Meillassoux, Catherine Malabou, Michel Serres and Bruno Latour. Contemporary French philosophy is laying fresh claim to the human. Through a series of independent, simultaneous initiatives, arising in the writing of diverse current French thinkers, the figured of the human is being transformed and reworked. Christopher Watkin draws out both the promises and perils inherent in these attempts to rethink humanity's relation to 'nature' and 'culture', to the objects that surround us, to the possibility of social and political change, to ecology and even to our own brains. This comparative assessment makes visible for the first time one of the most important trends in French thought today Alain Badiou, Quentin Meillassoux, Catherine Malabou, Michel Serres And Bruno Latour: This New Generation Of French Philosophers Is Laying Fresh Claim To The Human. Across A Number Of New Strains Of Philosophy, They Are Rethinking Humanity's Relationships: To 'nature' And 'culture', To The Objects That Surround Us, To The Possibility Of Social And Political Change, To Ecology And Even To Our Own Brains. Christopher Watkin Draws Out Both The Promises And Perils Of These New Philosophies. And He Shows Just How High The Stakes Are For Our Technologically Advanced But Socially Atomised And Ecologically Vulnerable Society. "French philosophy today is laying fresh claim to the human ... a series of independent, simultaneous initiatives, arising in the writing of diverse current French thinkers to transform and rework the figure of the human. [The author] draws out both the promises and perils inherent in these attempts to rethink humanity's relation to 'nature' and 'culture', to the objects that surround us, to the possibility of social and political change, to ecology and even to our own brains ..." Back cover Contents 6 Acknowledgments 7 Abbreviations 9 Introduction 14 1 Alain Badiou: Formalised Inhumanism 32 2 Quentin Meillassoux: Supreme Human Value Meets Antianthropocentrism 59 3 Catherine Malabou: The Plastic Human 90 4 Catherine Malabou: The Epigenetic Human 123 5 Michel Serres: Universal Humanism 154 6 Bruno Latour: Translating the Human 184 Conclusion 215 Notes 219 Select Bibliography 243 Index 268 Alain Badiou, Quentin Meillassoux, Catherine Malabou, Michel Serres and Bruno Latour: this comparative, critical analysis shows the promises and perils of new French philosophy's reformulation of the idea of the human.