Book Review: “The Revolt Against Humanity: Imagining A Future Without Us”, by Adam Kirsch

“There is something wrong with regular people. They’re far from being the best creatures in the world.”

The Overstory

★★★★☆

You have to admit – the cover of this book is far more pleasant than its title. And even so, there are some groups of people that would find the prospective alluring – and no, they are not sociopaths.
The book is an introduction of two different ways of thinking that will likely influence our near future, if not turn out to be our future itself. The first half of the book explains the reasons for wanting the end of humans as a species by antihumanists, the second by transhumanists.

Now, I know what you’re thinking – how can anybody cheer for a humanless world?
The truth is, you don’t have to be a chronic pessimist to see the way we have manipulated our environment. You can even argue that those changes were for improving our life, but ultimately they will be also our doom. So yes – in the future those two movements are imagining we have disappeared, and rightfully so, as the book says. The difference for them is how.

For antihumanists, we became so disconnected from our environment, taking advantage of its resources, pushing their limits and exploiting other species (and our own) in the process, that we can’t simply keep up. We meddled too much in nature, and having failed, we need to back off, leaving the stage to another species (if one at all).
Transhumanists are hoping we are the last of our species as well, but only to make space for an improved version of humanity enhanced by technology.

This book is meant to be an introduction to their way of thinking, to their vision of a world without humans (and how to come to terms with it), and to the influence this affirmed phenomenon is already having in our society – although we’re still talking rethorically, the revolt against humanity has the potential to grow into a revolution on how people think themselves and their destiny. Even if you never heard of these waves, it’s perfect to get started to know the bones of it, the prominent figures of the movement, and to have numerous resources to deepen your understanding of it. It’s a great read to get in touch with something that is not widely discussed, and yet already touches us, making it presently relevant.

Contents
Introduction
Chapter One – How Could We Drink Up the Sea?
Chapter Two – Now It’s Too Late to Change
Chapter Three – Humans Are Not the Point
Chapter Four – Fashion Yourself in the Form You May Prefer
Chapter Five – A Throwing Away of All the Human Rules
Chapter Six – The Sphere of Spiritual Walfare
Further Reading