Rethink the Human

• Date: September 16, October 7 & October 14
• Time: 11 A.M. - 12:15 P.M.
• Place: CRIHN, Pavillon Lionel-Groulx, Université de Montréal
• Speaker: Pierre Lévy
• Link: https://bbb.futuretic.fr/rooms/n2i-uak-apk-luv/join

This fall, Pierre Lévy (MSRC) will lead a series of workshops on the theme of Rethinking the Human.

Humanism is currently under attack on three fronts. 1) For post-humanism, AI and biotechnology signify the end of humanity, or at least the end of traditional humanism. 2) For environmentalism and anti-speciesism, humans must renounce their anthropocentrism.

Given the devastation wrought by the Anthropocene, the biblical and modern ideal that we are destined to become “masters and possessors of nature” (Descartes) must be abandoned. 3) For critics of domination, the universalism and essentialism inherent in modern European humanism mask patriarchal, colonial, and capitalist oppression.

How can we conceive an essence of Humans that escapes contemporary critiques of

humanism? Here, we will offer some preliminary reflections prior to the development of a

future philosophical anthropology. The aim of these three lectures is to begin to rethink

humanity as a singularity in nature. Indeed, I do not believe it is possible to engage in

ethical meditation without questioning the essence of humanity and thus without highlighting what distinguishes us from animals. We will therefore examine the figure of a strange three-faced animal: speaking, political, and technical.

Schedule

• September 16, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Montreal time): La sensibilité animale
• October 7, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Montreal time): L’ordre symbolique
• October 14, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Montreal time): Le roseau pensant

The workshops will be in French and will take place in person and online.