SHOULD HUMANITY END? Apocalypse and the World to Come

Ecological, technological, and political transformations are intensifying apocalyptic images and narratives. However, the most pressing question of our present is not how we can avert the end of humanity, as such an outlook is doubly misleading. It is doubtful whether we would ever be capable of doing so, or whether sufficient time remains, but more fundamentally, it reflects an ideological distortion that obscures a more decisive problem: Should humanity end? Rather than being captivated by ever-new scenarios of impending doom, it is far more urgent to ask: How exactly will humanity come to an end? And as if that were not enough, we must consider that the humanity that might be wiped out, and whose extinction we fear, perhaps does not even exist yet. Will it ever come to exist? If it does not, what exactly are we trying to preserve? And after all, can we really coherently argue for the prevention of extinction if humans are constantly excluded from humanity in the first place? This means the question “should humanity end?” cannot be separated from the question “whose humanity?” and whether the concept is worth preserving at all or needs to be broken open entirely.

“Should Humanity End? Apocalypse and the World to Come” is a philosophical event hosted by the Käte Hamburger Centre for Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Studies (CAPAS) at the Heidelberg University in collaboration with the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. The evening brings together three thinkers – current and former CAPAS fellows – to discuss both their research and their individual positions on the guiding question: “Should humanity end? And if so, how?”

With: Gabi Balcarce (University of Buenos Aires, CAPAS Fellow), Goran Vranešević (University of Ljubljana, CAPAS Fellow), and Marcus Quent (Kunstakademie Düsseldorf; CAPAS Alumnus).

Info: https://www.capas.uni-heidelberg.de/en/outreach/outreach-events/should-humanity-end-apocalypse-and-the-world-to-come