The concept of human nature has always been an important issue, be it for philosophy, sciences or politics. In the 20th century, it has been severely criticized. From a scientific perspective, the concept of human nature has been criticized for relying on an outdated essentialism and a misguided nature-nurture divide. From a social perspective, it has been criticized since it furthers dehumanization, as part of which some people are regarded as less human.

The book What’s Left of Human Nature? takes these criticisms seriously and asks: What could it possibly mean to talk about a ‘human nature’ despite these critiques?

Maria Kronfeldner is Professor at Central European University’s Philosophy Department. She works in the philosophy of the sciences, integrating it with other approaches in science studies, and has published widely in these areas. She currently directs the “Epistemology of the In/human Project” and has been awarded The Karl Popper Essay Prize of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science and The Philosophical Quarterly International Essay Prize. From 2010–2014 she was Junior Professor at Bielefeld University. Earlier she held several fellowships, among them at the Max Planck Institute for History of Science in Berlin; at the Fishbein Center for History of Science and Medicine of the University of Chicago; at the Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh; and at the Sydney Centre for the Foundations of Science of the University of Sydney.

Participants:
Marko Porčić, Department of Archeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade
Stefan Janković, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade
Janko Međedović, Faculty of Media and Communications, Singidunum University
Adriana Zaharijević, Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade
Ana Lipij, Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade
Aleksandra Knežević, Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade

Moderator: Aleksandra Knežević