Description
Book SynopsisThis book offers a comprehensive reflection on the existential condition of the 21st century. A visionary introduction to existential posthumanism, it takes the form of eight meditations.
This posthuman journey of self-inquiry engages with a wide range of knowledge and wisdom: from the Paleolithic times to the futures of radical life extension, from multi-species evolutions to the rights of Nature, the Anthropocene and the rise of Artificial Intelligence.
The book declutters the habit of being human. Letting go of the need for anthropocentric mastery and species-specific ambitions, the reader emerges regenerated. The manifold paths of posthuman self-realization reveal that we are all co-creators in the existential unfolding: our lives are our ultimate works of art.
The Art of Being Posthuman is a self-help guide to navigate our brave new world.
Trade Review“As we barrel toward a cowardly new world of anthropocentric accumulation and destruction, Francesca Ferrando has written a brave new book showing a different world is possible when we embrace a philosophy and praxis that dethrones the human, not for a mess of AI, but for life in all of its manifestations and infinite variety to thrive. Francesca Ferrando is the philosopher poet for our times; The Art of Being is where we all must begin.”
Robin D. G. Kelley, Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History, UCLA. Author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination“Ferrando is a visionary endowed with a profound sense of ethics. In this remarkable new book, she explores the posthuman as a tool to reach a more adequate understanding of our existential condition, but also as a way of developing a deeper wisdom about what we are in the process of becoming. Generous, even daring at time, Ferrando combines critical intelligence with a visceral love of the world.”
Rosi Braidotti, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Utrecht University, The Netherlands“Ferrando’s journey, from existence and art to education and agency, reiterates the urgent need to rethink our selves as relational, distributed and connected. With a style that merges the personal and the academic, this book delivers up a complex picture of the posthuman.”
Pramod K. Nayar, UNESCO Chair in Vulnerability Studies, University of Hyderabad, India“Modern humanism, with its anthropocentric, androcentric, Eurocentric, logocentric and technocentric norms, has dragged us to the brink of disaster.
The Art of Being Posthuman is an urgent set of meditations aiming to reverse this trend through the conscious praxis of an art of existence.”
Debashish Banerji, California Institute of Integral Studies, United StatesTable of ContentsPremise
Introduction: How can Posthumanism bring Change?
Meditation 1: Posthuman Self-Enquiry
Meditation 2: Human Evolutions
Meditation 3: Biotic Co-Emergences
Meditation 4: Ecological Presence
Meditation 5: Cosmic Constellations
Meditation 6: Technological Enhancement
Meditation 7: Socio-cultural Agency
Meditation 8: Ontological Awareness
Conclusions: Posthuman Mantra
Download supporting exercises and prompts here
