This text presents a critical synthesis of the thought of Hans Jonas (1903-1993), a philosopher of Jewish origin and former pupil of M. Heidegger and R. Bultmann in Marburg, who in 1933 fled from Nazi Germany to Palestine, Canada and finally settled in the USA. Jonas authored significant works on late-antique Gnosticism, the philosophy of life, philosophical anthropology, the ethics of responsibility, bioethics, and speculative theology. The book also proposes a comprehensive and innovative interpretation of Jonas thought in terms of a deep and relentless commitment to the future, in face of the perils of contemporary nihilism and present-day technology. The intrinsic complexity and heterogeneity of Jonas philosophical interests is probably the reason why a comprehensive and critical reconstruction of his thinking has yet to be carried out successfully in the English language. This book fills that gap. By doing so, the authors clarify the role played by Jonas in the philosophy of the 20th century but also shed light on the possible contribution of his insights to present-day debates regarding science, ethics, bioethics, and politics. The authors argue that within the heterogeneity of his work reverberates a unitary and coherent existential attitude, which explains both his deep interest in life and his personal engagement in the preservation of its integrity. This work appeals to researchers and students in philosophy seeking to become more acquainted with the scholarship of Hans Jonas.
Chapter 1: Hans Jonas: Witness of the 20th Century.
Chapter 2: Jonass
hermeneutics: From demythologisation to the myth of the becoming God.-
Chapter 3: Philosophy of freedom: Between omnipotence and impotence.
Chapter
4: The philosophy of life.
Chapter 5: Concerns about technology.
Chapter 6:
The ethics of responsibility.
Chapter 7: Jonass contribution to bioethics.
Roberto Franzini Tibaldeo (PhD in Science of Culture, Modena, 2005 and in Philosophy, Torino, 2011) is Professor at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (Brazil). In 2003, 2008, and 2014 he has been awarded research fellowships by the DAAD. He has served as research fellow at the Scuola Superiore SantAnna in Pisa (Italy) and at the Université Catolique de Louvain (Belgium). He authored the book La rivoluzione ontologica di Hans Jonas (Milan: Mimesis, 2009), as well as many articles on Jonas thinking. Among his research interests: continental philosophy, with an emphasis on modern and contemporary nihilism, ontology, ethics, Hans Jonas, philosophy of education, and philosophy of health.
Nathalie Frogneux (PhD in Philosophy and History of Religions and Anthropology of Religions, ICP and Paris IV/Sorbonne, France) is Professor at the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium). Visiting professor at La Sapienza University in Rome (May 2022) and at Università Gabriele dAnnunzio in Chieti/Pescara (April-May 2025). Author of Hans Jonas ou la vie dans le monde (Brussels: De Boeck, 2001), she has also translated and presented H. Jonas, La Gnose et l'esprit de l'Antiquité tardive. Histoire et méthodologie de la recherche (Milan: Mimesis, 2017). Recently, she coordinated the special issue: Hans Jonas, Une Philosophie des seuils, in La Pensée écologique (Paris, Presses Universitaires de France, 2025).
Jelson Oliveira is Professor at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (Brazil). Researcher at CNPq (Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development). PhD in philosophy, with a post-doctoral internship at the University of Exeter (United Kingdom) and at the Université Catholique de Louvain (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium). He is a member of the Hans Jonas Research Group of CNPq, is the coordinator of the Hans Jonas Working Group, and member of the Working Group on Philosophy of Technology of ANPOF (National Association of Graduate Studies in Philosophy). He is the founding director of the Hans Jonas Chair at PUCPR and of the Hans Jonas Center Brazil. Author of numerous articles and books on the work of Hans Jonas and its articulation with topics such as technology, environment, vegetal philosophy, and animal ethics.
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