Nature as Event: The Lure of the Possible

Wehaveenteredaneweraofnature.Whatremainsofthefrontiersofmodernthoughtthatdividedthelivingfromtheinert,subjectivityfromobjectivity,theapparentfromthereal,valuefromfact,andthehumanfromthenonhuman?Canthegreatoppositionsthatpresidedoverthemoderninventionofnaturestillclaimanycogency?InNatureasEvent,DidierDebaiseshowshownewnarrativesandcosmologiesarenecessarytorearticulatethatwhichuntilnowhadbeenseparated.FollowingWilliamJamesandAlfredNorthWhitehead,Debaisepresentsapluralisticapproachtonature.Whatwouldhappenifweattributedsubjectivityandpotentialtoallbeings,humanandnonhuman?Whyshouldwenotconsideraestheticsandaffectasthefabricthatbindsallexistence?Andwhatifthesensesofimportanceandvaluewerenolongerunderstoodtobeexclusivelylimitedtothehuman?