E.N.D. Exploring Nuclear Disaster

In 1945, after atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, the world entered the nuclear age. Initially, this development of extraordinary technological power was believed to hold the promise of an end to armed conflict. But today, as wars continue to rage across the globe, the nuclear age seems more likely to bring about a devastating end: the end of history, and the end of nature. In their provocative new book E.N.D.: Exploring Nuclear Disaster, Roland Breeur and Elad Magomedov combine historical research with philosophical insight to think the unthinkable end. From the destructive potential of nuclear weaponry to the long-term ravages of nuclear waste, Breeur and Magomedov expose the limitations of phenomenological and other philosophical frameworks in addressing the meaning of what is often called a “crisis.” By engaging with thinkers such as Husserl, Merleau-Ponty, Arendt and Anders, they develop an original and timely treatise on how the nuclear age has transformed our understanding of both ourselves and the environment we inhabit.