Anthropology after Metaphysics in the Philosophy of Bruno Latour

Authors

  • Elena Petrikovskaya RAS Institute of Philosophy

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21146/2414-3715-2023-9-1-145-159

Keywords:

philosophical anthropology, anthropological approach, Bruno Latour, symmetrical anthropology, anthropology of modern, non-human beings (non-humans), humanities, dehumanization

Abstract

Under the influence of science, technology and global changes, the pathos of caring for a person today is transferred to non-human communities. Sensitivity to matter and its changing states has returned to philosophy. Nature is again considered as a universal model of everything that exists. A new value has become the world in all its diversity, the world itself, unlimited by the phenomenon of man. To think in a new way is to think on the other side of a person, to abandon the idea that it is a person who thinks. This is the anthropological trend in modern philosophy.

It remains to consider what are the consequences of overcoming anthropocentrism and "posthumanistic" decisions for the individual, culture, and humanities. And why, despite the struggle with the "anthropological dream" (M. Foucault), the anthropological method of research remains in demand. To this end, the author refers to the works of the French philosopher, anthropologist, sociologist of science Bruno Latour to characterize his anthropological project.

The author records when solving which issues Latour turns to anthropology. The place of anthropology in the actor-network theory of the philosopher is discussed. It shows the consonance of Latour's methodological approach to the branch of philosophical anthropology that comes from Н. Plessner and A. Gehlen, in which there is no isolation of either the field of knowledge itself or its subject. On the contrary, philosophical and anthropological reflection is motivated by pragmatics, by what is carried out beyond the boundaries of philosophy and pure consciousness. The refusal to build anthropology on the basis of New European rationalism gives a new breath to the anthropological approach. There is a search for an alternative framework of thinking to anthropocentrism, new foundations from which the position of a person in the world, human reality can be comprehended. An overview of ideas regarding the "anthropology of modern" is given, the purpose of which is to explain to the bearers of modern consciousness that their own actions diverge from their own words. The study of Bruno Latour's anthropological reflection contributes both to the concretization of the theoretical and methodological foundations of his philosophy and to the clarification of the question of the goals of philosophical anthropology. By publishing this text, the author invites colleagues to discuss the strategies of modern philosophical and anthropological discourse.

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Author Biography

  • Elena Petrikovskaya, RAS Institute of Philosophy

    Ph.D. in Philosophy, Senior Research Fellow

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Published

2023-06-30

Issue

Section

Horizons of Philosophical Anthropology

How to Cite

1. Petrikovskaya E. . Anthropology after Metaphysics in the Philosophy of Bruno Latour // Philosophical anthropology. 2023. № 1 (9). C. 145–159.