“Radically Re-examining ‘Modernity’ by Developing a Philosophy that Focuses on Interactions Between Technoscience and Social Structure” by Prof. Bruno Latour

Bruno Latour will be introduced by Prof. John H. Evans, Tata Chancellor’s Chair of Social Sciences & Co-director of the Institute for Practical Ethics, UC San Diego

About Bruno Latour, Ph.D. (Arts & Philosophy):

Bruno Latour is a French philosopher, anthropologist and sociologist. Professor Emeritus of the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po), Latour has revolutionized the conventional view of science by treating nature, humans, laboratory equipment, and other entities as equal actors, and describing technoscience as the hybrid network of these actors.

His philosophy re-examines “modernity” based on the dualism of nature and society. He has a large influence across disciplines, with his multi-faceted activities that include proposals regarding global environmental issues. In recent years his work has focused on a post-WWII Anthropocene Era – suggesting the necessity for reorganizing the political and social system by standing atop a terrestrial perspective.

Prof. Latour was born in Beaune, and earned his Ph.D. at the University of Tours. From 1982 to 2006 he was a professor at the Centre for the Sociology of Innovation (CSI) at the Paris School of Mines (ENSMP) and in 2006 became Professor and Scientific Director of the Medialab at Sciences Po.

Member of several academies including the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Prof. Latour is the 2013 recipient of the prestigious Holberg Prize. He has written and edited more than twenty books and published more than one hundred and fifty articles.

Virtual event access: Instructions to access this event will be emailed closer to the event date.

San Diego’s Kyoto Prize Symposium is a three-day celebration of the lives and works of those receiving the Kyoto Prize, a lifetime achievement award presented annually to individuals and groups worldwide. Thanks to a grant from the Inamori Foundation, and the many generous supporters of the Benefit Gala, presentations are open to the public at no charge.

The symposium provides an opportunity for an international audience to learn about the achievements of the current Kyoto Prize Laureates and to discuss the relationship between their accomplishments and the common quest for peace and harmony in our world.

Each year, the Symposium features lectures by the latest Kyoto Prize Laureates and esteemed scholars in the Laureates’ fields. This year, laureate lectures include (from left to right in picture): Andrew Chi-Chih Yao of Tsinghua University, Robert G. Roeder of Rockefeller University and Bruno Latour of the Paris Institute of Political Studies.

The Kyoto Prize Symposium is co-hosted by University of California San Diego & Point Loma Nazarene University.