Catherine Malabou and the Plastic Machine
摘要
Catherine Malabou’s philosophical work draws a parallel between the brain’s plasticity and the structure of social and political life. She investigates the ethical and political implications of the epigenetic fact that the criteria for formation only emerge after the process of formation. In other words, now that we know our brain has no fixed structure governing our decisions, how should we navigate our social lives? In a transitional phase of her work, she also explores a parallel between the human brain and natural history, drawing on the work of historians like Daniel Smail and Dipesh Chakrabarty. This chapter aims to examine this transitional phase of Malabou’s work, exploring how the issues addressed during this period might shift her socio-political thought toward an ontological framework. In other words, our focus is on how the epigenetic nature of the human brain can introduce the concept of natural history as a plastic brain.