Tra utopia ed ecologia. Timothy Morton e la filosofia dopo la fine del mondo

Abstract

This paper explores the complex relationship between ecology and utopia in the philosophical work of Timothy Morton, taking his definition of the “hyperobject” as its starting point. Morton defines a hyperobject as an entity or event (such as global warming) whose immense spatial and temporal dimensions fundamentally challenge our traditional concept of an “object,” exceeding our direct comprehension. The analysis first leverages the hyperobject framework to illuminate the depth of the contemporary ecological emergency and, simultaneously, to dismantle the traditional notion of Nature (arguing that Nature is not an object but is itself part of these hyperobjects). In contemporary ecological discourse, the urge to challenge industrial civilization and create a more sustainable relationship between humans and their world is often described in utopian terms—specifically, as an idyllic “return to Nature.” On the contrary, by insisting on humanity’s nonseparable entanglement with hyperobjects, Morton’s philosophy rejects the purity and nostalgic separation between humans and the environment implied by traditional ecological thought. The core aim of this paper is to demonstrate how this rejection of the classic Nature-Utopia link opens up a space for a new form of ecological thought—one that operates “after the end of the world” (the end of the world as we know it).We argue that the hyperobject provides the theoretical tools necessary to reconsider the role and meaning of human habitation on Earth and to explore the possibility of a non-nostalgic, anti-utopian ecological philosophy that embraces entanglement, non-purity, and coexistence within a fundamentally altered reality.