Towards a transcendental geology. A critical cartography of the Anthropocene
Giovanni Fava is a PhD Candidate at Ca' Foscari University in Venice, Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage (Dipartimento di Filosofia e Beni Culturali) and a current guest at the Center for Anthropocene History, KTH. He will present his doctoral work which he will defend in 2025.
Time: Tue 2025-04-29 14.00 - 15.00
Location: Large Seminar Room, Div. of History of Science, Technology & Environment, Level 5, Teknikringen 74D
Speaker
Short Abstract
This project aims to explore the concept of the “Anthropocene” in both its scientific definition and philosophical reception. The first part of the research adopts a historical-epistemological approach and analyzes the various scientific meanings of the Anthropocene, particularly as developed within the scientific debate over the last 20 years. It traces the evolution and development of the concept, investigating its various scientific meanings, such as the “stratigraphic” meaning, the “Earth system science” perspective, the “evental” meaning (i.e., the Anthropocene as an event), and the various diachronous declinations of the concept.
The second part focuses on the philosophical interpretation of the concept, examining how it has been received within the social and human sciences, particularly in its connection with ontology and the problem of agency. In particular, it focuses on new materialist, post-humanist, accelerationist, eco-Marxist, technocratic, and other interpretations of the concept, adopting a historical-philosophical approach.
The third part of the research will aim to merge these two conceptual frameworks—scientific and philosophical—to provide a comprehensive understanding of the Anthropocene through the lens of "transcendental geology." This concept, derived from the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty, highlights the constitutive relationship that connects human experience to its material and terrestrial roots. The project will delve on this notion developing the connection between the embodied and perceptive roots (adopting a broad interpretation of perception that includes non-human and even geological forms of life) of systemic perspectives and their ontological consequences (i.e., the idea of the Earth as a totality).