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Santiago Zabala |
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***The Philosophy of Warnings*** |
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([[Published in the *Institute of Arts and Ideas* on October 7, |
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<div id="title_edition">Title of the publication</div> |
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2020]{.underline}](https://iai.tv/articles/the-philosophy-of-warnings-auid-1646)) |
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<div id="amro">AMRO Servus etc</div> |
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This month an undergraduate student told me his parents were using the |
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<div class="title">The Philosophy of Warnings</div> |
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<div class="author">Santiago Zabala</div> |
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<div class="published">Published in the *Institute of Arts and Ideas* on October 7, |
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2020</div> |
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<header id="pageheader">Some stuff here in the header</header> |
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<div class="essay_content"> |
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<p>This month an undergraduate student told me his parents were using the |
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pandemic to persuade him to avoid philosophy as it could not prevent or |
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pandemic to persuade him to avoid philosophy as it could not prevent or |
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solve real emergencies. I told him to let them know that we find |
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solve real emergencies. I told him to let them know that we find |
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ourselves in this global emergency because we haven't thought |
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ourselves in this global emergency because we haven't thought |
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@ -19,9 +29,9 @@ Though philosophers can't solve an ongoing emergency---philosophy was |
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never meant to solve anything---we can interpret their signs through a |
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never meant to solve anything---we can interpret their signs through a |
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"philosophy of warnings." Although this philosophy probably won't change |
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"philosophy of warnings." Although this philosophy probably won't change |
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the views of my student's parents, it might help us to reevaluate our |
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the views of my student's parents, it might help us to reevaluate our |
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political, environmental, and technological priorities for the future. |
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political, environmental, and technological priorities for the future.</p> |
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Like recent philosophies of plants or |
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<p>Like recent philosophies of plants or |
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[[insects]{.underline}](http://cup.columbia.edu/book/a-philosophy-of-the-insect/9780231175791), |
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[[insects]{.underline}](http://cup.columbia.edu/book/a-philosophy-of-the-insect/9780231175791), |
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which emerged as a response to a global environmental crisis, a |
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which emerged as a response to a global environmental crisis, a |
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"philosophy of warnings" is also a reaction to a global emergency that |
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"philosophy of warnings" is also a reaction to a global emergency that |
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@ -38,9 +48,9 @@ emergency, even one whose coming has been |
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[[announced]{.underline}](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/experts-warned-pandemic-decades-ago-why-not-ready-for-coronavirus/) |
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[[announced]{.underline}](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/experts-warned-pandemic-decades-ago-why-not-ready-for-coronavirus/) |
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for decades. But why haven't we been able to take these warnings |
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for decades. But why haven't we been able to take these warnings |
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seriously? Before tackling this question, let's recall how warnings have |
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seriously? Before tackling this question, let's recall how warnings have |
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been addressed philosophically. |
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been addressed philosophically.</p> |
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Examples of warning philosophy can be traced back to Greek mythology and |
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<p>Examples of warning philosophy can be traced back to Greek mythology and |
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Plato\'s *Apology*. Apollo provided Cassandra with the gift of prophecy |
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Plato\'s *Apology*. Apollo provided Cassandra with the gift of prophecy |
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even though she could not convince others of the validity of her |
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even though she could not convince others of the validity of her |
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predictions, and Socrates warned the Athenians---after he was sentenced |
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predictions, and Socrates warned the Athenians---after he was sentenced |
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@ -54,9 +64,9 @@ disaster upon disaster. In line with Hannah Arendt's warnings of the |
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reemergence of totalitarianism after the Second World War, Giorgio |
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reemergence of totalitarianism after the Second World War, Giorgio |
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Agamben began his book on the current pandemic with "A Warning": |
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Agamben began his book on the current pandemic with "A Warning": |
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biosecurity will now serve governments to rule through a new form of |
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biosecurity will now serve governments to rule through a new form of |
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tyranny called "technological-sanitary" despotism. |
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tyranny called "technological-sanitary" despotism.</p> |
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These examples illustrate the difference between warnings and |
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<p>These examples illustrate the difference between warnings and |
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predictions. Warnings are sustained by signs in the present that request |
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predictions. Warnings are sustained by signs in the present that request |
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our involvement, as Benjamin suggests. Predictions call out what will |
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our involvement, as Benjamin suggests. Predictions call out what will |
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take place regardless of our actions, a future as the only continuation |
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take place regardless of our actions, a future as the only continuation |
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@ -66,9 +76,9 @@ present signaled by alarming signs that we are asked to confront. The |
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problem is not the involvement warnings request from us but rather |
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problem is not the involvement warnings request from us but rather |
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whether we are willing to confront them at all. The volume of vital |
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whether we are willing to confront them at all. The volume of vital |
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warnings that we ignore---climate change, social inequality, refugee |
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warnings that we ignore---climate change, social inequality, refugee |
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crises---is alarming; it has become our greatest emergency. |
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crises---is alarming; it has become our greatest emergency.</p> |
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Indifference towards warnings is rooted in the ongoing global return to |
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<p>Indifference towards warnings is rooted in the ongoing global return to |
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order and realism in the twenty-first century. This return is not only |
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order and realism in the twenty-first century. This return is not only |
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political, as demonstrated by the various right-wing populist forces |
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political, as demonstrated by the various right-wing populist forces |
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that have taken office around the world, but also cultural as the return |
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that have taken office around the world, but also cultural as the return |
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@ -90,9 +100,9 @@ transparent, direct, and genuine. "The quickness of social media, as |
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Judith Butler [[pointed |
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Judith Butler [[pointed |
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out]{.underline}](https://www.newstatesman.com/international/2020/09/judith-butler-culture-wars-jk-rowling-and-living-anti-intellectual-times), |
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out]{.underline}](https://www.newstatesman.com/international/2020/09/judith-butler-culture-wars-jk-rowling-and-living-anti-intellectual-times), |
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allows for forms of vitriol that do not exactly support thoughtful |
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allows for forms of vitriol that do not exactly support thoughtful |
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debate." |
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debate."</p> |
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Our inability to take warnings seriously has devastating consequences, |
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<p>Our inability to take warnings seriously has devastating consequences, |
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as recent months make clear. The central argument in favor of a |
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as recent months make clear. The central argument in favor of a |
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philosophy of warnings is not whether what it warns of comes to pass but |
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philosophy of warnings is not whether what it warns of comes to pass but |
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rather the pressure it exercises against those emergencies hidden and |
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rather the pressure it exercises against those emergencies hidden and |
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@ -103,14 +113,14 @@ loss, and commodification of our lives by surveillance capitalism. These |
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warnings are also why we should oppose any demand to "return to |
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warnings are also why we should oppose any demand to "return to |
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normality," which signals primarily a desire to ignore what caused this |
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normality," which signals primarily a desire to ignore what caused this |
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pandemic in the first place. A philosophy of warnings seeks to alter and |
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pandemic in the first place. A philosophy of warnings seeks to alter and |
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interrupt the reality we've become accustomed to. |
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interrupt the reality we've become accustomed to.</p> |
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Although a philosophy of warnings will not prevent future emergencies, |
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<p>Although a philosophy of warnings will not prevent future emergencies, |
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it will resist the ongoing silencing of emergencies under the guise of |
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it will resist the ongoing silencing of emergencies under the guise of |
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realism by challenging our framed global order and its realist |
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realism by challenging our framed global order and its realist |
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advocates. This philosophy is not meant to rescue us *from* emergencies |
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advocates. This philosophy is not meant to rescue us *from* emergencies |
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but rather rescue us *into* emergencies that we are trained to ignore. |
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but rather rescue us *into* emergencies that we are trained to ignore.</p> |
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</div> |
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[[Santiago Zabala]{.underline}](http://www.santiagozabala.com/) is ICREA |
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[[Santiago Zabala]{.underline}](http://www.santiagozabala.com/) is ICREA |
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Research Professor of Philosophy at the Pompeu Fabra University in |
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Research Professor of Philosophy at the Pompeu Fabra University in |
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Barcelona. His most recent book is *Being at Large: Freedom in the Age |
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Barcelona. His most recent book is *Being at Large: Freedom in the Age |
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