After the Apocalypse

In this post-apocalyptic rollercoaster ride, philosopher Srećko Horvat invites us to explore the Apocalypse in terms of ‘revelation’ (rather than as the ‘end’ itself). He argues that the only way to prevent the end – i.e., extinction – is to engage in a close reading of various interconnected threats, such as climate crisis, the nuclear age and the ongoing pandemic. Drawing on the work of neglected philosopher Günther Anders, this book outlines a philosophical approach to deal with what Horvat, borrowing a term from climate science and giving it a theological twist, calls ‘eschatological tipping points’. These are no longer just the nuclear age or climate crisis, but their collision, conjoined with various other major threats – not only pandemics, but also the viruses of capitalism and fascism. In his investigation of the future of places such as Chernobyl, the Mediterranean and the Marshall Islands, as well as many others affected by COVID-19, Horvat contends that the ‘revelation’ appears simple and unprecedented: the alternatives are no longer socialism or barbarism – our only alternatives today are a radical reinvention of the world, or mass extinction. After the Apocalypse is an urgent call not only to mourn tomorrow’s dead today but to struggle for our future while we can.

Acknowledgements Epigraph Note Introduction: Nine Theses on Apocalypse The Apocalypse already happened Apocalypse as revelation The struggle for meaning Post-apocalyptic melancholy ‘Normalization’ of the Apocalypse Eschatological tipping points Extinction is ‘supraliminal’ Time beyond ‘progress’ Another end of the world is still possible Notes 1 Climate Crisis: Back to the Future Mediterranean On the importance of wind Solastalgia for the Mediterranean ‘Normalization’ of the Apocalypse Death of Venice Notes 2 The Nuclear Age: ‘Enjoy Chernobyl, Die Later’ ‘Cloud that stopped at the border’ The obsolescence of ‘ruin value’ Commodification of the Apocalypse Supraliminal radioactivity Notes 3 The Collision: Marshall Islands Are Everywhere ‘The ontological Garden of Eden’ The collision of the nuclear age and climate crisis The twenty-first-century pyramids Time beyond progress Notes Postscriptum: ‘Revelation’ of COVID-19 ‘Wuhan is everywhere’ Eschatological tipping points The revolution of breathing Notes