Can forests think? Do dogs dream? In this astonishing book, Eduardo Kohn challenges the very foundations of anthropology, calling into question our central assumptions about what it means to be human—and thus distinct from all other life forms. Based on four years of fieldwork among the Runa of Ecuador’s Upper Amazon, Eduardo Kohn draws on his rich ethnography to explore how Amazonians interact with the many creatures that inhabit one of the world’s most complex ecosystems. Whether or not we recognize it, our anthropological tools hinge on those capacities that make us distinctly human. However, when we turn our ethnographic attention to how we relate to other kinds of beings, these tools (which have the effect of divorcing us from the rest of the world) break down. How Forests Think seizes on this breakdown as an opportunity. Avoiding reductionistic solutions, and without losing sight of how our lives and those of others are caught up in the moral webs we humans spin, this book skillfully fashions new kinds of conceptual tools from the strange and unexpected properties of the living world itself. In this groundbreaking work, Kohn takes anthropology in a new and exciting direction–one that offers a more capacious way to think about the world we share with other kinds of beings.

本书深入探究 “身体” 在信息时代的命运，责无旁贷地阐明我们所身处的虚拟时代以及未来的走向。我们作为 “人类” 的日子已经屈指可数了，我们终将成为 “后人类”。人类为什么会向 “后人类” ？“后人类” 到底意味着什么？人类要加入恐龙的队伍，成为被淘汰的物种？智能机器人会成为这个星球上最重要的生命形式？融贯技术与文化的历史，从控制论的诞生到人造生命的出现，凯瑟琳﹒海勒梳理出三个相互交织的故事：信息如何失去它的身体；赛博人的文化观念与技术建构；控制论对人本主义主体的消解。深入探究“身体”在信息时代的命运，阐明了我们所处的时代和未来。人类必须与其他生命形式共享这个星球甚至人类自身。