The Humanization of Nature

It is obvious that human forms of life have affected the earth system to such an extent that one has to consider the possibility that a new geological age has emerged. More importantly, the severe changes underway in this new age, often called the ‘Anthropocene’, seem to undermine the very conditions of survival on this planet: Climate change, a severe reduction of biodiversity, the increasing exploitation and devastation of the environment, and new diseases based on cross-species virus transmission are only some of the most visible forms in which human activities have seriously undermined the habitability of this planet for human and non-human species. It is the dire irony of the term ‘Anthropocene’ that it is named after the very species that is heading for self-extinction in this age. This situation does not just underline the fact that the present capitalist forms of life are unviable, it also poses a challenge to some of the constitutive ideals that have guided the critique of these forms of life – notions of growth and transformation, liberation and invention, freedom and self-determination, care and responsibility, justice and equality. Against this background, the conference seeks to articulate the ‘Anthropocene’ as a philosophical problem that requires a deep revision of our self-understanding and a new conception of politics.