午夜剧场

This book is one of the major works by French philosopher of science G. Chamayou. Although it focuses on drones—specifically military unmanned aerial vehicles centered around the United States—it delves into a wide range of issues inherent in the military use of remote technology, from the psychological and ethical problems posed by remote killing to law and political philosophy.

I study contemporary French philosophy and social thought, particularly 20th-century thinkers like Levinas, and I am not an expert in drones, the philosophy of science, or war ethics. Consequently, some expressed surprise that I undertook the translation of this book, but I would like to note a few points regarding our shared interests.

The closest connection is perhaps the discourse on "catastrophe" by French philosophers that I have been interested in since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, such as Nancy's "After Fukushima" and Dupuy's "Enlightened Catastrophism." In that context, I try to survey contemporary French political philosophy, technology theory, and environmental thought as much as possible, and Chamayou stood out among them.

I personally visit Fukushima from time to time to see the progress of reconstruction. I encountered this book just as I learned that the exclusion zones, which were almost "unmanned" like the "end of the world," were being reborn as centers for remote technology development under the "Fukushima Innovation Coast Framework." I felt that this book, which deepens philosophical reflection on "remote technology," would provide valuable hints.

However, the problem of "unmanning" itself is likely not unique to modern technology. The ideas of 20th-century Jewish thinkers such as Levinas, Arendt, and Anders (author of "The Obsolescence of Man"), who lived through the brink of "extinction," intersect with Chamayou's arguments in terms of considering the limits of the "human," even though their situations were entirely different.

Another reason I undertook the translation was that, in Japan, the lifting of the ban on military research at universities and the argument for the uselessness of the humanities were being discussed simultaneously. From the perspective of the relationship between politics, capital, and academia, the viewpoint of this book should provide some clues.

By Grégoire Chamayou, Translated by Yotetsu Tonaki

Akashi Shoten

352 pages, 2,400 yen (excluding tax)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.