Entanglement: Essays on a unifying humanism
- Period: October 2019 until early 2021
- Status: completed
In October 2019, the VUB and the UvH organised a conference with a keynote speech by William Connolly, followed by an in-depth exploration of themes from his work by academics. This book project follows on from that and started shortly after the conference.
Description
In his book Facing the planetary: Entangled humanism and the politics of swarming (2017), political philosopher William Connolly argues that new ways of thinking are needed about how humans relate to other forms of existence. He advocates “entangled humanism”, a humanism that takes into account the interdependent relationships between all forms of being.
This book project further develops the idea of “entangled humanism” as “connective humanism”, which represents a fundamental rethinking of how people interact with each other and with the world, from the perspective of connectedness and mutual dependencies. The modern paradigm of autonomous humans who can bend the world to their will is giving way to a paradigm of partnership in the context of complex ecosystems in an era increasingly referred to as the Anthropocene.
How can humans participate meaningfully and justly in a dynamic and plural world undergoing major shifts over which humans have only limited control?
Researchers
- Prof. Hans Alma (VU) en Dr. Caroline Suransky (UvH) (researchers and editors)
- Prof. William Connolly (Johns Hopkins U), Prof. Marc Van den Bossche (VUB), Yoni Van Den Eede (VUB), Nidesh Lawtoo (KU Leuven), Henk Manschot (UvH) Femke Kaulingfreks (InHolland), Bertine van Hoof (Humanistic Management Network)
Partners
- Johns Hopkins University, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Hogeschool InHolland (scientific partners)
- Humanistische Alliantie, De Mens Nu (societal partners)
(Co-)funding
Vrije Universiteit Brussel and University of Humanistic Studies.
Results
Book: Alma, H. A., & Suransky, A. C. (Eds.) (2021). Verwevenheid. Essays over een verbindend humanisme. VUB Press.
Contact
Caroline Suransky, C.Suransky@UvH.nl.