From ‘even if there is no god’ to ‘even if there is no man’: pro absurdo hypotheses between modern age and the age of ecological transition

Marco Lamanna

Authors

Marco Lamanna Facoltà di Teologia di Lugano

Keywords:

Pro absurdo Hypotheses, Bruno, Grotius, Ecological Transition, A World without God/Humans

Abstract

This article surveys texts, documentaries, video clips exploring a range of pro absurdo
hypotheses elaborated between the modern age and the age of ecological transition. A pro
absurdo hypothesis is a claim designed to exaggerate its significance, either because it is deemed
unacceptable in the spirit of the times or because it is inconsistent with established knowledge. The
modern age has produced models and ways of thinking that are regarded as valid “even if there is no
God” (etsi Deus non daretur), while the postmodern and ecological transition age is nowadays
hypothesizing what the world and nature would be even if there were no humans (etsi homo non
daretur) or if humans had never existed. Both these periods have frequently constructed these
hypotheses on the hypothetical linguistic structure “even if.”

Author Biography

Marco Lamanna, Facoltà di Teologia di Lugano

ORCID: 0000-0001-9045-7482

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