Abstract

By alluding to human death through animal bodies in the "Natural History" series, Hirst turns away from the humanist tradition epitomized by Heidegger's notion of "Dasein". Whereas Heidegger conceptualized an abyss between animality and humanness, Hirst suggests an ontological confusion, and the triumph of animality in current post-historical condition. Moreover, Hirst's work resonates with the techno-scientific paradigm that has estranged us from the millennia-long consuetude between humans and animals, eclipsed the pastoral image of England, and brought about the era of genetic clones.