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In Matter and Desire, internationally renowned biologist and philosopher Andreas Weber rewrites ecology as a tender practice of forging relationships, of yearning for connections, and of expressing these desires through our bodies. Being alive is an erotic processβconstantly transforming the self through contact with others, desiring ever more life.
In clever and surprising ways, Weber recognizes that loveβthe impulse to establish connections, to intermingle, to weave our existence poetically together with that of other beingsβis a foundational principle of reality. The fact that we disregard this principle lies at the core of a global crisis of meaning that plays out in the avalanche of species loss and in our belief that the world is a dead mechanism controlled through economic efficiency.
Although rooted in scientific observation, Matter and Desire becomes a tender philosophy for the Anthropocene, a βpoetic materialism,β that closes the gap between mind and matter. Ultimately, Weber discovers, in order to save life on Earthβand our own meaningful existence as human beingsβwe must learn to love.
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Andreas Weber is a Berlin-based philosopher, biologist, and writer. He holds degrees in marine biology and cultural studies, and has collaborated with brain researcher and philosopher Francisco Varela. His books in English include: Enlivenment: Towards a Fundamental Shift in the Concepts of Nature, Culture and Politics (2013); The Biology of Wonder: Aliveness, Feeling, and the Metamorphosis of Science (2016); and Biopoetics: Towards an Existential Ecology (2016). Weber regularly contributes to major newspapers and magazines, such as National Geographic, GEO, and Die Zeit, and has won a number of awards for his writing. He teaches philosophy at Leuphana University, LΓΌneburg and at the University of Fine Arts, Berlin. Weber has two children, fifteen and seventeen. He lives in Berlin and Italy.
