Krzysztof Skonieczny

The article starts with the popular diagnosis that generative artificial intelligence (genAI) will ‘change everything’ in education and asks what such a fundamental change would entail—and if we would even notice it under our current theoretical frameworks. It then analyses two such frameworks—namely, Martha Nussbaum’s neohumanist theory and posthumanist theory—to see if they can provide guidance in this potential new situation. Nussbaum’s theory is found to fall short in terms of appreciating the potential positive developments the introduction of genAI could bring, such as the emergence of new capabilities that are not covered by her framework. Posthumanist theory faces the opposite problem—not being good enough at identifying the potentially dangerous outcomes of using genAI in the classroom. The article ends with suggestions concerning a possible path forward, incorporating the most valuable insights of each theory.

The chapter starts with an analysis of Frederic Jameson’s saying, commonly rendered as “it’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism”. Following Carol J. Adams’ notion of the “absent referent”, the author shows that—somewhat counterintuitively, the problem of the end of the world is unthought in this adage. Having analysed numerous instances of what we refer to as “ends of the world”, the author finally suggests that the reason we so readily accept Jameson’s saying as true is that we imagine the world as a thing (e.g., the planet, humankind or the universe) and imagine capitalism as a set of rules. Therefore, imagining the end of the world should entail a radically different set of rules, which can be achieved through engaging in a version of what Quentin Meillassoux calls “Extro-Science Fiction”.

This volume critically interrogates non-Western frameworks within environmental humanities, seeking to challenge and deconstruct dominant Western paradigms. Through a range of interdisciplinary contributions, the book explores alternative epistemologies, including Indigenous, postcolonial, and regional perspectives from Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Global South. It addresses the intricate relations between humans and the environment, emphasizing localized knowledge systems and ecological philosophies. By engaging with diverse cultural, historical, and geographical contexts, the work aims to decolonize environmental discourse and advance more inclusive, pluralistic theoretical approaches to global ecological challenges.

The article analyses the practice of singularisation in the face of an ‘ornamental understanding of death’, taking cues from Deleuze's and Derrida's understanding of death and mourning. The ornamental understanding of death, on which we often fall back in the face of events such as wars or pandemics, privileges statistical generalisations and a focus on repeatability over singularity. Sustained by both Freud and Heidegger, this view is countered by Deleuze's and Derrida's texts, which are shown to propose a practice of singularisation which focus on the impersonal and non-subjective to pave a way for a new understanding of death and mourning.

"Regimes of Capital in the Post-digital Age provides a view of the current state of capitalism, through the interrogation of key diagnoses offered by philosophers and social theorists. With attention to questions about the manner in which the advent of the information age has shaped capitalism, the implications of the post-digital age for social capital, and the possible forms of resistance to the problematic aspects of capitalism, it will appeal to scholars of sociology, philosophy and social theory with interests in critical theory, capitalist society and digital culture"--

This book reexamines the concept of the animal on the plane of immanence, as opposed to the traditional viewpoint founded on the plane of transcendence. Following Deleuze and Guattari’s notion that philosophy is a discipline of creating concepts, this book traces how the concept of the animal was created in the history of philosophy through re-reading the works of Descartes, Kant, Heidegger, Derrida and Levinas. Their theories show that the concept of the animal was constructed on the "plane of transcendence" as subservient to the self-serving human, who represents the animal as a negative entity devoid of reason, ethics, the ability to enter into political alliances or even die. With this perspective and a range of theories from thinkers such as Spinoza, Nancy, Haraway and Braidotti as the groundwork, a new positive concept of the animal, operating on the plane of immanence, is sketched out, compelling a reappraisal of the relationships between body and thought, ethics and politics, or life and death. With comprehensive interpretations of the views of several key philosophers, from Kant and Heidegger to Deleuze, Derrida and Agamben, this book will be valuable for scholars of theoretical animal studies and continental philosophy interested in the philosophical significance of the animal question.

Książka Ateizm. Próba dokończenia projektu rozwija swego rodzaju;narrację” o pojęciu ateizmu, jego filozoficznym życiorysie, miejscu w kulturze zachodniej, apogeum w okresie rewolucji francuskiej, powrocie w XX-wiecznym „nowym ateizmie” i – w tym szerokim kontekście – jego niewielkiej kulturowo roli w Polsce. Jej wagę filozoficzną i intelektualną podkreśla aktualność ze względu na obecną polityczną, kulturową i religijną sytuację nie tylko w Polsce, która wręcz prosi o tego typu dyskusję, a nawet się jej domaga. Książka Ateizm. Próba dokończenia projektu jest pracą filozoficznie zwartą i prowokującą do głębokiej refleksji pojęciowej, kulturowej i politycznej. Można w niej znaleźć przemyślenia dla zaawansowanych umysłów filozoficznych, dla intelektualistów obeznanych z tematem bądź szukających wprowadzenia do dyskusji wokół ateizmu, jak też i dla;zwykłych; czytelników. Atutem książki jest jej przejrzystość i dostępność, przy zachowaniu kompleksowości i pojęciowego rygoru. Prof. Krzysztof Ziarek (Department of Comparative Literature at SUNY-Buffalo)

It is a recent tendency to read certain pre- and early-modern thinkers as “anticipatory critics” of modernity; the name of Michel de Montaigne often comes up in this context. Most of the critical approaches treat Montaigne like a pre-Rousseau proto-romantic which is indeed is an important part of Montaigne’s thinking. However, as I show in this paper, his Essays also allow for a different interpretation. Namely, I demonstrate that 1) Montaigne’s appraisal of Nature is far from a romantic-idyllic one; 2) his understanding of the interspecies division is more subtle than it is often thought; 3) his thought thus interpreted includes an ethics of becoming-animal that is based on a radically anti-Platonic (and thus anti-Cartesian) body-mind economy.

In The Inoperative Community Jean-Luc Nancy suggests that his conception of speech as the cornerstone of community can be likened to the image of two Inuit women engaging in traditional vocal games (katajjaq). This article (1) elucidates this connection through the analysis of ethnographic and ethnomusicological data on katajjaq; (2) shows how the similarity of this image to that of two resonating lyres present in the works of the Renaissance philosopher Marsilio Ficino can be used to understand Nancy’s political philosophy as a discussion with the (neo)platonic tradition of harmony, to which Nancy opposes his own concept of resonance.