ATC Lecture: Eugene Thacker, Darklife April 26, 2010

Events at both the macro-scale and the micro-scale continually remind us of the radically unhuman aspects of life. Natural disasters, global pandemics, the manifold effects of climate change are just some of the ways in which life expresses itself in ways that are at once 'above' and 'below' the scale of the human being. Life, it seems, is expressed 'in itself' as much as it is determined to exist 'for us'. Indeed, the very concept of life itself has become a major preoccupation in contemporary culture, from the latest developments in science and technology to the emerging forms of biopolitics that are becoming synonymous with global culture.

But what exactly do we mean when we evoke the concept of life? Is there really a concept of life that is common to all the manifestations of the living? Are the twin concepts of life and the living always determined within the framework of 'generosity' - that is, as becoming, process, and flow? Or are there alternatives to thinking about life, neither in terms of being nor in terms of becoming?

In this talk we will explore the twists and turns of the idea of life itself as a key philosophical problematic in modernity, beginning with the question posed by Kant, and the responses to that question provided by three main philosophical traditions: vitalism, phenomenology, and the 'dark' or meontological concept of nothingness.

Biography:
Eugene Thacker is a writer and theorist whose works examine the philosophical aspects of science and technology. His most recent book is entitled 'After Life' and will be published by the University of Chicago Press. He is also the author of the books 'The Exploit: A Theory of Networks' (co-authored with Alexander Galloway), 'The Global Genome: Biotechnology, Politics, and Culture,' and 'Biomedia.' Thacker is Associate Professor in the School of Literature, Communication & Culture at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Official Website: http://atc.berkeley.edu