Café Philo: Down to Earth by Bruno Latour

What does it really mean to “live on Earth” today?

Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climatic Regime is one of Bruno Latour’s most accessible and provocative books. Written in the context of climate change, political polarization, and growing inequalities, it invites us to question the idea that humans and nature exist as separate worlds.

Instead of separating human society from nature, Latour asks a basic but urgent question: How can humans live alongside other living beings on a limited planet?

Latour argues that many of today’s political crises, from climate denial to growing inequality, come from our refusal to accept that humans are part of nature and not separate from it.
He suggests that politics should move beyond the opposition between the global and the local, and instead focus on how we can learn to live together on Earth.

Guided by Pierre-Laurent Boulanger, who worked closely with Bruno Latour for several years, this conversation will unpack Latour’s ideas in a clear and approachable way, connecting philosophy to everyday questions about territory, belonging, responsibility, and our shared future.

No philosophical background is required. Curiosity and openness are more than enough.

Reading the book in advance is encouraged but not required. You can order your copy here.

The event will be held in English. The discussion will be followed by a convivial moment with a glass of wine.

About the book:

In Down to Earth, Bruno Latour offers a powerful reframing of ecological and political thought. He challenges the idea of “nature” as a distant backdrop and proposes a new way of thinking about politics grounded in our concrete attachments to places, ecosystems, and other forms of life. Short, sharp, and highly readable, the book remains a key reference for understanding the world we are living in, and the choices ahead of us.
“Down to Earth challenges the belief that facts speak for themselves, and calls for a new way of understanding our place on the planet.”—The New York Times

Bruno Latour (1947–2022) was a French philosopher, anthropologist, and sociologist, widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of our time. His work explored how science, politics, technology, and ecology shape the way we live together on Earth.

Best known for challenging the idea that humans stand apart from nature, Latour argued that human and non-human worlds are deeply interconnected. Through books such as We Have Never Been Modern and Down to Earth, he invited readers to rethink modernity, ecology, and responsibility in the age of climate change.

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