Critical Humanism: A Manifesto for the 21st Century

We live in a mutilated world and our humanity seems irrevocably damaged. Many critics suggest we have reached the End of Humanity, a ‘post-humanity’. In this challenging book, Ken Plummer suggests such claims may be premature: instead a new understanding of humanity is required.It may be true that the narrow view of western humanity has had its day, but with this manifesto Ken Plummer critically reflects upon and re-imagines humanism for the 21st Century. What is now needed, he argues, is a fresh, wide-ranging imaginary of open plural humanity that takes both a critical stance towards older, often divisive, ideas of what it means to be human while also connecting to newer stances around the rich diversity of world life in the pluriverse. Critical Humanism shows that we simply cannot afford to be anti-human or post-human. To do so will mean losing the battle for the survival of who we are as fleshy but symbolic creative creatures. In an age of post- and trans-humanist turns, this is a personal and passionate call for thinkers, researchers and activists to not turn their backs on humanism. The book encourages us to build our humanist vision: we have actually achieved much and can achieve much more. Restoring our belief in humanity has never been more important.