Politics 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.

Thursday, 20 October 2022

10:00 – 10:30
Thomas Khurana
Politics of Nature: An Introduction

10:30 – 11:45
Beth Lord
Spinoza and the Politics of Soil

Chair: Oliver Precht

11:45 – 12:15 Coffee break

12:15 – 13.30
Martin Saar
Nature/Politics: Critical Theory and the Turn to Life

Chair: Hanna Hamel

13:30 – 15:00 Lunch Break

15:00 – 16:15
Jacob Blumenfeld
The Socialization of Nature

Chair: Lillian Cicerchia

16:15 – 16:45 Coffee break

16:45 –18:00
Karen Ng
Metabolism and Natural Limits: Rethinking Species-Being in Hegel and Marx

Chair: Kristina Lepold

18:30 – 20:00 Keynote
Slavoj Žižek
‘Unbehagen in der Natur‘: On Thinking the End of Nature

Chair: Christian Schmidt

Friday, 21 October 2022

10:00 – 11:15
Frank Ruda
Un-Natur: De-natura (rerum)

Chair: Katharina Hoppe

11:30 – 12:45
Melanie Sehgal
Philosophy and the Arts of a New Climatic Regime

Chair: Hilkje Hänel

12:45 – 14:30 Lunch break

14:30 – 15:45
Oxana Timofeeva
The World Soul?

Chair: Francesca Raimondi

15:45 – 16:15 Coffee break

16:15 – 17:30
Christoph Menke
Imitation of Life: Democracy After Beuys

Chair: Xenia Chiaramonte

17:30 – 18:00 Coffee break

18:00 – 20:00 Discussion
What Is to be done? Climate Crisis and Political Activism
With Eva von Redecker, Rupert Read, Andreas Malm

Chair: Robin Celikates

Organized by

Thomas Khurana

An event of the Department of Philosophy & the Center for Post-Kantian Philosophy (University of Potsdam) in cooperation with the ICI Berlin, supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG)

How to Attend

• At the venue (registration required): Registration will open on 5 Oct 2022.
• Public livestream (no registration required) on this page with the possibility to ask questions via chat.