The (post)human condition. Earth, technology, and postanthropocentric becoming
Keywords:
Earthbound creatures. Automatism. Alienation. Modern world. Posthumanism.Abstract
Hannah Arendt’s The Human Condition is an inquiry into the trajectories of the vita activa within the tradition of Western thought, with particular attention to the modern age. I argue that the text provides key conceptual tools for reflecting on the transition from the human condition to what is now described as the posthuman condition. Arendt’s contribution lies in her critique of substantialist conceptions of “the human” and her reformulation of it in relational and plural terms, grounded in the conditions of human existence. Among these conditions, the Earth figures prominently as a fundamental prerequisite for human life, opening the possibility for a politics of the Earth – one rooted in the finitude and interdependence of earthly creatures and the plurality of forms of existence to which we belong. Moreover, Arendt traces different stages in the development of modern science and technology, offering insight into the specificity of contemporary technoscience and the profound challenges it poses for the future of the human condition.
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