New Books in Critical Theory Santiago Zabala, "Signs from the Future: Philosophy of Warnings" (Columbia UP, 2025)
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Sep 4, 2025 Santiago Zabala, an ICREA Research Professor at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, presents his insightful book about understanding warnings in today's crisis-laden world. He elaborates on how warnings are distinct from predictions, urging listeners to confront present issues like climate change and gender ideologies. Zabala critiques conservative gender perspectives and emphasizes the need for critical engagement with political extremism, technology's moral implications, and the vital role of activism, notably highlighting Greta Thunberg's influence.
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Warnings Demand Active Interpretation
- Warnings invite active interpretation and responsibility rather than passive prediction.
- Santiago Zabala compares warnings to car rearview mirrors that require ongoing attention and involvement.
Warnings Offer Alternatives, Not Fate
- Warnings differ from predictions because they offer alternatives and require our intervention.
- Philosophy's role, Zabala argues, is largely to issue such warnings to reorient action rather than forecast outcomes.
Science Alone Won't Mobilize Us
- Heidegger warns that science calculates but does not 'think' the limits and meanings of being.
- Zabala says scientific truth alone fails to mobilize action on crises like climate change.
