Human Exceptionalism and the Lot of Animals: Telling Stories About “Human Nature” in the Anthropocene

Abstract

This paper arose from a discussion of Maria Kronfeldner’s book What’s Left of Human Nature? In it, I am chiefly concerned with two things: the role that other animals are afforded in discussions about and attempts at defining “human nature”, and a critique of the concept of nature that is utilized in the book. Furthermore, I view science as storytelling practice, and scholarly narratives about “human nature” as important stories in order to pose the question of accountability of telling such stories in the Anthropocene.

Ovaj rad je nastao kao rezultat diskusije o knjizi Marije Kronfeldner What’s Left of Human Nature? U njemu se prevashodno bavim dvema temama: ulogom koja je ostalim životinjama pripisana u diskusijama o i pokušajima definisanja „ljudske prirode“, i kritikom koncepta prirode koji se koristi u knjizi. Nadalje, nauku posmatram kao praksu pričanja priča, a akademske narative o „ljudskoj prirodi“ kao posebno važne vrste priča, kako bih postavila pitanje o odgovornosti koju pričanje takvih priča sa sobom nosi u Antropocenu.