Homo absconditus in times of global warming.Helmuth Plessner reconsidered, or: Liberal Democracy in the Anthropocene

Carlotta Voß (Justitia Centre for Advanced Studies)

 

Abstract
A multitude of contemporary political and moral debates centers around the empirical finding of anthropogenic global warming. Some of these debates are bringing forth anthropological arguments that challenge the foundational ideals of modern liberal democracy. At the same time, explicit criticisms of liberal democracy are growing, highlighting its perceived inability to address the climate crisis in a timely manner. Given this backdrop, a pivotal question arises from a democratic theory standpoint: How can we justify the principles of liberal democracy in the Anthropocene (as a geological epoch) and vis-à-vis the »Anthropocene« (as a narrative that contextualizes the discovery of anthropogenic global warming within anthropological assertions)? In my presentation, I aim to argue that Helmuth Plessner’s Philosophical Anthropology and Social Philosophy can offer a solid foundation to tackle this question.

Die Rednerin
Carlotta Voß hat 2021 an der FU Berlin und der RU Bochum mit einer Arbeit über »Ironie und Urteil. Thukydides’ Ironische Historiographie als Medium kritischer Anthropologie« promoviert.

Teilnahme und Anmeldung
Geschlossene Veranstaltung. Teilnahme nur nach vorheriger Anmeldung (contact: Beate Sutterlüty; email: b.sutterluety@forschungskolleg-humanwissenschaften.de).