Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for Planetary Intelligence by James Bridle
“If we are to address the wholesale despoilation of the planet, and our growing helplessness in the face of vast computational power, then we must find ways to reconcile our technological prowess and sense of human uniqueness with an earthy sensibility and an attentiveness to the interconnectedness of all things.”
About the Book
Recent years have seen rapid advances in ‘artificial’ intelligence, which increasingly appears to be something stranger than we ever imagined. At the same time, we are becoming more aware of the other intelligences which have been with us all along, unrecognised. These other beings are the animals, plants, and natural systems that surround us and are slowly revealing their complexity and knowledge - just as the new technologies we’ve built threaten to cause their extinction, and ours.
Ways of Being considers the fascinating, uncanny and multiple ways of existing on earth. What can we learn from these other forms of intelligence and personhood, and how can we change our societies to live more equitably with one another and the non-human world? From Greek oracles to octopuses, forests to satellites, Bridle tells a radical new story about ecology, technology and intelligence. We must, they argue, expand our definition of these terms to build a meaningful and free relationship with the non-human, one based on solidarity and cognitive diversity. We have so much to learn, and many worlds to gain.
About the Author
James Bridle is a writer, artist and technologist. Their artworks have been commissioned by galleries and institutions and exhibited worldwide and on the internet. They are the author of 'New Dark Age' (2018) and 'Ways of Being' (2022).
Weekly Reading Schedule
w/b 2nd - Intro, ch 1-2
w/b 9th - ch 3-4
w/b 16th - ch 5-7
w/b 23rd - ch 8-9
Online Reading Group Meeting
Thursday 26th February
6:30pm — 8:00pm GMT
Cost: £8
Zoom link
Weekly Updates
You can follow regular updates and ongoing reflections over the month on both my Substack and Instagram stories.
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