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Are We Still Human? Günther Anders in the Age of Automation

  • Christian Dries (Speaker)
  • Muller, C. (Speaker)
  • Elke Schwarz (Speaker)
  • Jacob Blumenfeld (Speaker)

Activity: Talk or presentationInvited talk

Description

With the publication of the first English translation of influential German philosopher Günther Anders’s 1956 masterpiece of critical theory, The Obsolescence of the Human, a new generation of readers can now engage with his prescient and haunting vision of a “world without us” dominated by technology. Looking at technological events such as the detonation of the nuclear bomb and the arrival of televisions in our living rooms, Anders advances a warning of what humanity looks like in a world where it has surrendered all agency. He outlines the new emotional landscapes that shape our relationship to increasingly capable technology, including Promethean shame, the human sense of unease our own superior technological innovations can instill. Confronting the growing gap between what we can collectively create and what we can individually comprehend, Anders speculates on the trajectory of a developing technological world that rapidly exceeds our ability to control or even foresee its negative consequences. This event brings together four leading scholars of Anders’ work to discuss the remarkable relevance of Anders’ ideas to our present.
Period3 Mar 2026
Held atThe Philosopher, United Kingdom
Degree of RecognitionInternational