Webinar – How To Be Animal: A New History of What It Means to Be Human

In her book, "How to Be Animal: A New History of What it Means to Be Human, " environmental philosopher Melanie Challenger takes a new approach on the story of what it means to be human and argues that at the heart of our psychology is a profound struggle with being animal. Challenger examines how technology influences our sense of our own animal nature and our relationship with other species with whom we share this fragile planet. In this conversation with Briana Pobiner, paleoanthropologist and educator at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, Challenger explores the wide-ranging ways this mindset affects our lives, tracing it from the origins of Homo sapiens through the age of the Internet, and on to futures of AI and human–machine interface. This Zoom webinar aired October 13, 2021.