Critical Humanism

A Manifesto for the 21st Century

Ken Plummer

• Publisher: Polity
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781509527984
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

We live in a mutilated world and our humanity seems irrevocably damaged. Many critics suggest we have reached the end of humanity. In this challenging book, Ken Plummer suggests that such claims may be premature; instead, what we need is a new transformative understanding of humanity.

Critical Humanism critically reflects upon and reimagines humanism for the twenty-first century. What is now required is a fresh, wide-ranging imaginary of an open, worldly, plural and caring humanity. It needs to take a critical stance towards older, often divisive ideas of what it means to be human, while reconnecting to a wider understanding of the rich diversity of life in the pluriverse.

In an age of post- and transhumanist turns, Plummer provides a personal, political and passionate call for thinkers, researchers and activists to not turn their backs on humanism. We need instead to create a vital new political imaginary of being human in a connected planet. We simply cannot afford to be anti-human or posthuman. Restoring our belief in humanity has never been more important for edging towards a better world for all.

Index

• ableism, 76, 77, 78, 92, 186
• accountability, 97, 188
• Addams, Jane, 3
• Adorno, Theodor, 31
• affiliation, 143
• Afghanistan, 20, 56, 60, 94
• Africa
  • narratives, 116, 117
  • questions facing humanity, 175
  • reconciliation, 98–9
  • religious conflict, 139
  • trauma, 93
  • values, 137
  • virtues, 141
• age hierarchies, 76
• ageism, 76, 77, 185
• agency, 6, 29, 85, 138
• aggression, 74, 133
• Alexander, Jeffrey C., 90, 230n16
• algorithm, 49, 58, 64, 109, 118, 163
• alterity, 141
• altruism, 1, 25, 26, 130, 183
• Andre, Judith, 144
• animals, 68, 143, 186
  • connective spiral, 38
  • values, 134, 146
• Anthropocene, 2, 22, 47, 110–11, 112, 118–19, 151, 174
• anti-environmentalism, 186
• anti-humanity, 3, 4, 90, 94, 98
  • global history of, 187
  • resistance to, 186, 193
• antiracism, 16, 76, 78, 160
• anti-Semitism, 76, 77
• Anti-Slavery Society, 121
• Apartheid, 91, 93, 98, 188
• apocalyptic futures, 150–2
• Appiah, Kwame Anthony, 83
• Aquinas, Thomas, 165
• Archer, Margaret, 214n11
• Arendt, Hannah, 67, 105, 224n2, 228n35, 229n2
• Aristotle, 115, 141, 142, 144
• Armenians, 76, 95, 97
• Armstrong, Karen, 75, 83
• artificial intelligence (AI), 23, 31, 51, 58, 118, 152
• Asian-African Conference, Bandung (1955), 123
• astrophysics, 22
• atheism, 19
• atrocities, 86, 87, 90–1, 93, 178
  • anti-humanity, 187
  • gender, 95, 100
  • institutionalized accounting, 96–9
  • narratives, 99
• Augustson, Kent, 235n24
• Australia, 93, 154
• authoritarianism, 174–5, 180
  • rise in, 60, 61, 64, 75, 184, 197...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Series page
• Dedication page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Boxes, Tables and Figures
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• I Rethinking the World: Connecting Humanity
• II Dehumanizing the World: Disconnecting Humanity
• III Humanizing the World: Flourishing Humanity
• Part IV Transforming the World: A Politics and Literacy for Humanity
• Epilogue: On Being Well in the World – The Joys of Everyday Living
• Short Guide to Further Reading
• Index
• End User License Agreement