Current Hostory: November 2023 Special Issue "Human-Nonhuman Relations"

 

 

 I have been thinking about the consequences of the rise of non carbon based intelligence--some of which may be approaching, not just consciousness but sentience. The effect on the core obsessions of philosophy since the Enlightenment will be profound (see, e.g., my thinking here--Discussion Draft Posted for Comment: "Non-Carbon Based Autonomous (A.I. and Predictive) Intelligence and the Human Condition--An Encounter with Jan M. Broekman, Knowledge in Change: The Semiotics of Cognition and Conversation (Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature, 2023)").

These consequences have also been explored from a variety of angles in the November 2023 special issue of Current History, the century-old international affairs journal,  https://online.ucpress.edu/currenthistory/issue/122/847. Entitled “Human–Nonhuman Relations” the articles ask and seek to interrogate a number of profoundly fascinating questions. 

The issue contents follow below; access online here.

Our November issue includes the following:

Enzyme Power
Hannah Landecker (University of California, Los Angeles)
The little-noticed proteins that catalyze crucial biochemical reactions have become ubiquitous in cleaning products—and now are being enlisted to remediate pollution on a global scale.

Nature without Conservation
Krithika Srinivasan (University of Edinburgh) and Rosemary Collard (Simon Fraser University)
The imperative to conserve the world’s natural heritage is rooted in the pursuit of development. This entanglement can lead to efforts that end up harming the animals they are meant to save.

China’s Ecological Engineering in the Anthropocene
Annah Lake Zhu (Wageningen University)
Preserving nature is not a priority of Chinese-style environmentalism. Its large-scale interventions and use of natural resources are finding a receptive audience in the global South.

Interspecies Relations in the Midst of the Russia–Ukraine War
Tanya Richardson (Wilfrid Laurier University)
The Russian invasion has inflicted immense ecological damage on Ukraine. Scientists, nature reserve managers, and beekeepers have worked in dangerous conditions to salvage what they can.

The Japanese Pursuit of Human–Robot Companionship
Hirofumi Katsuno (Doshisha University) and Daniel White (University of Cambridge)
Once regarded as curiosities, robots designed to bring comfort to humans with an array of emotion-sensing abilities are increasingly being deployed to address social needs in Japan.

PERSPECTIVE
Chasing Extraterrestrial Intelligence
J. W. Traphagan (Arizona State University)
Decades-long efforts to make contact with aliens have proved fruitless, but the search continues—as does debate over the wisdom of reaching out to unknown potential interlocutors.

BOOKS
Saving Nature and Ourselves
Keith Makoto Woodhouse (Northwestern University)
A political theorist argues that pressure from above and below to fulfill collective responsibilities can help emancipate both humans and the natural world from destructive exploitation.

 https://online.ucpress.edu/currenthistory/issue/122/847. Follow us on Facebook and X, formerly Twitter: @CurrentHistory1.

Our November issue includes the following:

Enzyme Power
Hannah Landecker (University of California, Los Angeles)
The little-noticed proteins that catalyze crucial biochemical reactions have become ubiquitous in cleaning products—and now are being enlisted to remediate pollution on a global scale.

Nature without Conservation
Krithika Srinivasan (University of Edinburgh) and Rosemary Collard (Simon Fraser University)
The imperative to conserve the world’s natural heritage is rooted in the pursuit of development. This entanglement can lead to efforts that end up harming the animals they are meant to save.

China’s Ecological Engineering in the Anthropocene
Annah Lake Zhu (Wageningen University)
Preserving nature is not a priority of Chinese-style environmentalism. Its large-scale interventions and use of natural resources are finding a receptive audience in the global South.

Interspecies Relations in the Midst of the Russia–Ukraine War
Tanya Richardson (Wilfrid Laurier University)
The Russian invasion has inflicted immense ecological damage on Ukraine. Scientists, nature reserve managers, and beekeepers have worked in dangerous conditions to salvage what they can.

The Japanese Pursuit of Human–Robot Companionship
Hirofumi Katsuno (Doshisha University) and Daniel White (University of Cambridge)
Once regarded as curiosities, robots designed to bring comfort to humans with an array of emotion-sensing abilities are increasingly being deployed to address social needs in Japan.

PERSPECTIVE
Chasing Extraterrestrial Intelligence
J. W. Traphagan (Arizona State University)
Decades-long efforts to make contact with aliens have proved fruitless, but the search continues—as does debate over the wisdom of reaching out to unknown potential interlocutors.

BOOKS
Saving Nature and Ourselves
Keith Makoto Woodhouse (Northwestern University)
A political theorist argues that pressure from above and below to fulfill collective responsibilities can help emancipate both humans and the natural world from destructive exploitation.