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A lively and poetic meditation on how we might reconcile humanity and nature from one of the world´s foremost philosophers of life, Michel Serres.

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The first translation of the volumes in Michel Serres´ classic ´Humanism´ tetralogy, this ambitious philosophical narrative explores what it means to be human. With his characteristic breadth of references including art, poetry, science, philosophy and literature, Serres paints a new picture of what it might mean to live meaningfully in contemporary society. He tells the story of humankind (from the beginning of time to the present moment) in an attempt to affirm his overriding thesis that humans and nature have always been part of the same ongoing and unfolding history.
This crucial piece of posthumanist philosophical writing has never before been released in English. A masterful translation by Randolph Burks ensures the poetry and wisdom of Serres writing is preserved and his notion of what humanity is and might be is opened up to new audiences.

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1) Memory and Forgetfulness
2) The Grand Narrative
3) Nature and Culture
4) The Incandescent
Metaphysics
Its Culture
5) Access to the Universal
Its Names
Evil
6) The Universal
7) The Grand Narrative
8) Chronopedia
9) An Appeal to Universities

Index

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The Incandescent glows with genius. Michel Serres brings the full array of his analytic, synthetic, and literary powers to bear on the grand narrative of humanity´s co-evolution with the natural world. Scientific erudition and philosophical depth come together in a sweeping cultural history that goes to the core of who we are as a species. In these pages the earth itself calls on us to become its curators and the avatars of more fully realized humanity. Robert Pogue Harrison, Professor of Literature, Division of Literatures, Cultures and Languages, Stanford University, USA

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Serres, Michel
Michel Serres was Professor in the History of Science at Stanford University, USA and a member of the Académie Fran‡aise, France. A renowned and popular philosopher, he was a prize-winning author of essays and books, such as The Five Senses (2008), Genesis (1995), and Biogée (2013).

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