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Concrete Universality

Philosophy for an Age of Fragmentation
By Lorenzo Marsili
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Brief Description
Universalism is collapsing in real time. As Western hegemony wanes, the promise of universal values is unmasked as a parochial inheritance; and as AI systems multiply, universal truths transform into computed artefacts emerging from a particular code and training. In Concrete Universality, Lorenzo Marsili argues that... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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Universalism is collapsing in real time. As Western hegemony wanes, the promise of universal values is unmasked as a parochial inheritance; and as AI systems multiply, universal truths transform into computed artefacts emerging from a particular code and training.

In Concrete Universality, Lorenzo Marsili argues that the choice is not between a bankrupt universalism and an 'anything goes' relativism. He proposes a third path: universality as a practice of worldmaking. Drawing on Chinese philosophy, European thought, and the contemporary metaphysics embedded in artificial intelligence and quantum mechanics, Marsili develops the concept of ontopoiesis: the idea that reality is continuously produced through relations and forms of mediation. This approach gives rise to a new political method: 'concrete universality' emerges from situated encounters yet gains planetary resonance, from AI regulation to climate policy. Here, universality is not a static ideal, but an unfinished voyage whose horizons move as humanity moves.

This book is an erudite and impassioned manifesto for a planetary philosophy and a way of weaving together a fragmenting planet, one universal at a time.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781509576234

Publisher: Polity Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 October 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Polity Press

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 15.0mm

Width: 136.0mm

Height: 214.0mm

Weight: 680g

Pages: 168

Collections

Lorenzo Marsili Non-Fiction Philosophy & Psychology Philosophy & Stoicism

About the Author

Lorenzo Marsili is a philosopher and director of the Berggruen Institute Europe. He is the author of Planetary Politics and other works.

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