Synopses & Reviews
For Michel Serres, economic crises are earthquakes caused by societal tectonic plates. The current crisis erupted because of the widening discrepancy between major social changes and institutions that have remained the same since WWII.
Serres, one of the first to bring nature into the political, writes, "To destroy, kill, exploit is worthless. In the long run, it means destroying ourselves." At a time when the world population has grown so much that it is exhausting natural resources and the environment, we need to rethink cultural, social, and political dynamics. Serres argues that geopolitics and economics will no longer be a two-player game, between West and East, for example, but a three-player one, in which is Earth will be the third partner.
This book is one of hope as it calls for a new world and extols the importance of science for our future and political institutions. Here, Serres demonstrates an optimistic outlook in a clear and luminous language that offers new paths for reflection and, ultimately, a better life for Earth and its inhabitants.
About the Author
Michel Serres is Professor of French at Stanford University and one of the 40 immortels of the Académie Française. A renowned and popular philosopher, he is a prize-winning author of essays and books, such as The Five Senses (2009), Genesis (1997), and Biogée (2010). In 2013, he was awarded the Dan David Prize from Tel Aviv University.
Table of Contents
Definitions of the word crisis
Chapter One: SIX EVENTS
Millenary novelties
The global crisis
Chapter Two: THE THINGS OF THE WORLD
Two player games and three player games
Biogea
The World's speech
Chapter 3: KNOWLEDGE AND BEHAVIORS
The future of the sciences
Two oaths
Solutions to the crisis?
Index