Is the Anthropocene… Luxury or Necessity?

Dialogue between Akeel Bilgrami (Department of Philosophy, Columbia University, New York) und Aldo Haesler (Département de sociologie, Université de Caen). Introduction: Cecelia Watson (Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Berlin)

The warning resounds amongst many proponents of the Anthropocene thesis: we must develop ways to control and manage our influence on the planet. Some geologists contend that the earth has inbuilt “planetary boundaries,” which, if exceeded, could cause irrevocable change to the earth’s systems. Yet, the types of environmental measures that could hold us at a safe distance from such a scenario require financial investments and a willingness to sacrifice profit and efficiency in favor of safe planetary management. A question of equality seems, then, urgent: who can afford to implement Anthropocenic policies and who is left out?

Akeel Bilgrami (New York) is the Johnsonian Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University and a founding member of its Committee on Global Thought. His collection of essays "Politics and the Moral Psychology of Identity", will be out next year. He is writing two short books called "What is a Muslim?" and "Gandhi, The Philosopher". His current longterm writing project is on practical reason and politics.

Aldo Haesler (Caen) is professor of sociology and social philosophy at Université Caen in France. His areas of research are theories of social change, philosophical anthropology and social philosophy.He was CEO of the Institut Montana (Switzerland) and currently is member of the research unit in philosophy “Identité et subjectivité.” His latest book is "Das letzte Tabu: Ruchlose Gedanken aus der Intimsphäre des Geldes" (2011).

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