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The Democracy of Suffering: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe, Philosophy in the Anthropocene
In The Democracy of Suffering philosopher Todd Dufresne provides a strikingly original exploration of the past, present, and future of this epoch, the Anthropocene, demonstrating how the twin crises of reason and capital have dramatically remade the essential conditions for life itself. Images, cartoons, artworks, and quotes pulled from literary and popular culture supplement this engaging and unorthodox look into where we stand amidst the ravages of climate change and capitalist economics. With humour, passion, and erudition, Dufresne diagnoses a frightening new reality and proposes a way forward, arguing that our serial experiences of catastrophic climate change herald an intellectual and moral awakening - one that lays the groundwork, albeit at the last possible moment, for a future beyond individualism, hate, and greed. That future is unapologetically collective. It begins with a shift in human consciousness, with philosophy in its broadest sense, and extends to a reengagement with our greatest ideals of economic, social, and political justice for all. But this collective future, Dufresne argues, is either now or never. Uncovering how we got into this mess and how, if at all, we get out of it, The Democracy of Suffering is a flicker of light, or perhaps a scream, in the face of human extinction and the end of civilization.
248 pages, Paperback
Published September 12, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 10, 2020
Todd Dufresne is best known in the scholarly world as a critical reader of Sigmund Freud, his most recent book on that topic being 2017's The Late Sigmund Freud: Or, The Last Word on Psychoanalysis, Society, and All the Riddles of Life. With The Democracy of Suffering, Dufresne turns his attention to the issue of climate change, in particular the potential catastrophic horror its consequences could inflict not just on those already living in grinding poverty, but on all human beings - hence, the "democratic" nature of suffering mentioned in the title.
Dufresne divides his book into three main parts, focusing in turn on the past, the present, and the future. Writing in clear, accessible English, he begins Part 1: The Past (c.1784-1968): Subjects of Reason by giving a sophisticated overview of the philosophical foundations of the Enlightenment, capitalist subject, walking the reader through its conceptual development via such figures as Kant, Hegel, Marx, Heidegger, and Foucault. We also get a tour of more recent theorists of the counter-Enlightenment movement known as postmodernism, with Lyotard singled out as its key spokesman. Dufresne is not particularly interested in being "for" or "against" the Enlightenment - what ultimately concerns him is whether a philosophical outlook is unproductively focused on the present or past, or whether it is productively oriented toward the future. A philosophy of the future is what is needed, he argues, if we are to see a way out of this mess.
Part 2: The Present (1968-2008): The World as Object or the Anthropocene Condition is book-ended by two important years: 1968, the year of worldwide protests against the status quo, and 2008, which witnessed the Global Financial Crisis from which capitalism has not ever truly recovered. Dufresne moves freely between thinkers who have been influential commentators on this crucial period, including Heidegger's critique of technology, Mark Fisher's critique of capitalist realism, Naomi Klein's meditations on crisis as a political tool, and James Lovelock's apocalyptic predictions. What we are witnessing, Dufresne argues, is the transition into the Anthropocene, a new period of history that is defined by the fact that humans have drastically shaped its parameters. This new period also presents us with a potential catastrophe, with suffering on a mass scale, up to and including human extinction. Dufresne emphasizes that what is required is not just a technological and economic solution to these problems, but a revolutionary shift in our attitudes about what it means to be human in the world. That is to say, the overwhelming evidence of these first two periods points to the fact that solving the impending crisis is fundamentally a philosophical project.
Part 3: The Future (2008-2100): On the Democracy of Suffering begins, rather surprisingly, with a meditation on Plato's ideal republic. Dufresne uses this example to remind readers of the need to be forward-thinking, to implement a future that is grounded in justice as well as sustainability. He then goes over both the evidence that science has provided, as well as a number of practical guidelines to ensure that catastrophe is avoided, or mitigated at the very least.
In The Democracy of Suffering, Dufresne has put his finger right on the pulse of contemporary society. Everywhere we look today there are environmental crises: the melting of the polar ice caps; the rampaging fires in Australia, California, and the Amazon; earthquakes in Puerto Rico; floods in Djakarta and the Philippines; undrinkable water in places like Flint, MI. The terrible consequences of environmental abuse that have been predicted for the last few decades are coming to pass, without question, and Dufresne's book is a timely call to arms. It is a book rippling with the right mixture of anger, analysis, and ideas, a working solution to the extraordinary complacency that is holding back the implementation of the necessary steps to correct this situation.
There were some philosophical ideas that I would like to have seen addressed in the course of The Democracy of Suffering, although these issues no doubt reflect my own interests rather than constituting any real fault in Dufresne's approach. For instance, I am repeatedly drawn back to Spinoza's question as to why it is that we, as human beings, find it so hard to put into action ideas that are obviously in line with what is good for us? Why do we so often have to be urged to act for our benefit, even survival? That resistance to our own good is a fascinating puzzle.
The other thing I would like to have seen, having just finished Jason Louv's excellent John Dee and the Empire of Angels: Enochian Magick and the Occult Roots of the Modern World, is a little contextualization of the dire scenario that Dufresne presents, especially in Part 3. As Louv argues, modern society, especially modern American society, has been addicted for centuries to the apocalyptic fantasy that the world will end. I think it is important to contextualize and distinguish the permutations of climate change from that powerful cultural and religious narrative.
Overall, Dufresne's book is a timely intervention in what is shaping up to be the topic of a future that is rapidly bearing down on us. As such, The Democracy of Suffering is a book that bears an important message, the key question being - will enough people heed its message to make a difference? For the sake of the future of humanity, let us hope so.
Dufresne divides his book into three main parts, focusing in turn on the past, the present, and the future. Writing in clear, accessible English, he begins Part 1: The Past (c.1784-1968): Subjects of Reason by giving a sophisticated overview of the philosophical foundations of the Enlightenment, capitalist subject, walking the reader through its conceptual development via such figures as Kant, Hegel, Marx, Heidegger, and Foucault. We also get a tour of more recent theorists of the counter-Enlightenment movement known as postmodernism, with Lyotard singled out as its key spokesman. Dufresne is not particularly interested in being "for" or "against" the Enlightenment - what ultimately concerns him is whether a philosophical outlook is unproductively focused on the present or past, or whether it is productively oriented toward the future. A philosophy of the future is what is needed, he argues, if we are to see a way out of this mess.
Part 2: The Present (1968-2008): The World as Object or the Anthropocene Condition is book-ended by two important years: 1968, the year of worldwide protests against the status quo, and 2008, which witnessed the Global Financial Crisis from which capitalism has not ever truly recovered. Dufresne moves freely between thinkers who have been influential commentators on this crucial period, including Heidegger's critique of technology, Mark Fisher's critique of capitalist realism, Naomi Klein's meditations on crisis as a political tool, and James Lovelock's apocalyptic predictions. What we are witnessing, Dufresne argues, is the transition into the Anthropocene, a new period of history that is defined by the fact that humans have drastically shaped its parameters. This new period also presents us with a potential catastrophe, with suffering on a mass scale, up to and including human extinction. Dufresne emphasizes that what is required is not just a technological and economic solution to these problems, but a revolutionary shift in our attitudes about what it means to be human in the world. That is to say, the overwhelming evidence of these first two periods points to the fact that solving the impending crisis is fundamentally a philosophical project.
Part 3: The Future (2008-2100): On the Democracy of Suffering begins, rather surprisingly, with a meditation on Plato's ideal republic. Dufresne uses this example to remind readers of the need to be forward-thinking, to implement a future that is grounded in justice as well as sustainability. He then goes over both the evidence that science has provided, as well as a number of practical guidelines to ensure that catastrophe is avoided, or mitigated at the very least.
In The Democracy of Suffering, Dufresne has put his finger right on the pulse of contemporary society. Everywhere we look today there are environmental crises: the melting of the polar ice caps; the rampaging fires in Australia, California, and the Amazon; earthquakes in Puerto Rico; floods in Djakarta and the Philippines; undrinkable water in places like Flint, MI. The terrible consequences of environmental abuse that have been predicted for the last few decades are coming to pass, without question, and Dufresne's book is a timely call to arms. It is a book rippling with the right mixture of anger, analysis, and ideas, a working solution to the extraordinary complacency that is holding back the implementation of the necessary steps to correct this situation.
There were some philosophical ideas that I would like to have seen addressed in the course of The Democracy of Suffering, although these issues no doubt reflect my own interests rather than constituting any real fault in Dufresne's approach. For instance, I am repeatedly drawn back to Spinoza's question as to why it is that we, as human beings, find it so hard to put into action ideas that are obviously in line with what is good for us? Why do we so often have to be urged to act for our benefit, even survival? That resistance to our own good is a fascinating puzzle.
The other thing I would like to have seen, having just finished Jason Louv's excellent John Dee and the Empire of Angels: Enochian Magick and the Occult Roots of the Modern World, is a little contextualization of the dire scenario that Dufresne presents, especially in Part 3. As Louv argues, modern society, especially modern American society, has been addicted for centuries to the apocalyptic fantasy that the world will end. I think it is important to contextualize and distinguish the permutations of climate change from that powerful cultural and religious narrative.
Overall, Dufresne's book is a timely intervention in what is shaping up to be the topic of a future that is rapidly bearing down on us. As such, The Democracy of Suffering is a book that bears an important message, the key question being - will enough people heed its message to make a difference? For the sake of the future of humanity, let us hope so.
September 8, 2020
這本書字很大不會看得很累，而且也算好懂，推。整本書拆成三個部分：過去 / 現在 / 未來，前兩部分主要是分析一些哲學家對於環境變遷的洞見，最後一部分則是提供了一些猜測跟想像給人類可能的未來。我是覺得他的分析都做得還蠻好懂的，當然也是有把一些以看不懂聞名於世的像是海德格德希達之類的用比較簡單的描述來講就是了。第三部份我個人認為是這本書的精華部分，但也是我意見最多的。他的想像最終還是建基於所謂人類作為一個集體所擁有的善意這類型的前提之上，但這種話從來自加拿大的人口中來，至少我是會覺得有點不是滋味啦 XD
喜歡這本書的可以去看 Murray Bookchin 的 Post-scarcity Anarchism，或是喜歡 Bookchin 的也可以看這本書。另外這本書圖很多看很快...
喜歡這本書的可以去看 Murray Bookchin 的 Post-scarcity Anarchism，或是喜歡 Bookchin 的也可以看這本書。另外這本書圖很多看很快...
May 11, 2024
It contains a great assortment of ideas and conclusions about the current state of our economy and the resulting impacts on people and the environment. Very well researched and written.
January 22, 2023
UGA: Environmental Philosophy
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews