Second in the series: Philosophy for a Time of Crisis
More information: My Books
“In my reading, this is the best introduction to Serres’ complex, imaginative, and profound thinking that has not lost any of its relevance for the times we are living through”.
Professor Dipesh Chakrabarty, author of The Climate of History in a Planetary Age (2021).
“Peter Johnson’s monograph offers a particularly timely reflection on the current planetary predicament through a thorough, compelling and very lucid exploration of Michel Serres’ ideas, providing the reader with profound intellectual clarity to understand such predicament and, ultimately, address it.”
Alessandro Pelizzon, author of Ecological Jurisprudence: The Law of Nature and the Nature of Law (2025).
Top notch!
This is an introduction to a man who was both a philosopher of note and a historian of science and his, some would say, revolutionary thinking about the challenge of not only climate change, but also the compounding of this frightening phenomenon by the way society has evolved and power held and withheld.
The author clearly knows his stuff and approaches such a challenging subject with knowledge whilst avoiding patronising the reader. His style made me want to keep reading and by the time I had finished my first read through, I was aware of not only enjoying the book, but also learning. I did revisit sections to just help me clarify my own conclusions and assumptions.
I would recommend this book to a broad readership, regardless of whether one is a casual reader or an under grad or maybe about to undertake a research degree. Whether the reader comes from a science or social science background, I can
recommend this book, hopefully a few Arts students will read it, as well.
Thanks. I really enjoyed the first book. I have no background in philosophy and thought it was readable, easy to follow, and communicated Serres’ core arguments (I was especially drawn to the natural contract and his approaches to global challenges, plus the part on neoliberalism which challenged a trap I’ve definitely fallen into when characterising it).
I became interested in global crises while studying geology at university, so the area I’m more comfortable with the academic literature is covered (Lynn Margulis’s work and the earlier chapters for example) came across as really accessible and well-explained.