Cancelled due to illness. Hope to reschedule to Apr 30th
A Defence of Misanthropy
This talk defends an account of misanthropy as a negative critical verdict on the collective moral condition and performance of humankind. I distinguish this from various vernacular senses of misanthropy - as, say, hatred or dislike of human beings and from specific misanthropic behaviours such as withdrawal from human society. The philosophical misanthrope experiences humanity or human forms of life as suffused with a variety of failings that are entrenched and ubiquitous. Three paths into misanthropy are described focused on our mistreatment of animals, the natural world, and our fellow humans. I then describe a variety of misanthropic stances - specific ways of living out a misanthropic vision of the human world: the four most common stances historically are the Enemy, Fugitive, and Activist, and Quietist. Along the way I respond to various worries about misanthropy, most of which target specific stances or presuppose the vernacular conception. I conclude that misanthropy is a reasonable perspective on humankind as it has come to be.