Bloomsbury Academic The Incandescent

The first installment in Michel Serres classic 'Humanism' trilogy, this is an ambitious attempt to narrativize and explore what it means to be human. With his characteristic breadth of references including art, poetry, science, philosophy and literature, Serres paints a new picture of what it might mean to live meaningfully in contemporary society. He tells the story of humankind (from the beginning of time to the present moment) in an attempt to affirm his overriding thesis that man and nature have always been part of the same ongoing and unfolding narrative. This crucial piece of posthumanist and philosophical writing has never before been released in English. A masterful translation by Randolph Burks ensures the poetry and wisdom of Serres writing is not lost and his notion of what humanity is and might be is opened up to new audiences.