This article shows that the question of “Historical Thinking and the Human” demands expanding the field of the philosophy of history. What I propose is to investigate the issue from two perspectives: firstly, by positioning it in the broader philosophical context, one that increasingly transcends the boundaries of the humanities to enter the realm of the life sciences; and secondly, by drawing on a wider range of analytical material than has usually been the case in classic works in the philosophy of history. I will critically reflect upon history’s anthropocentric biases, highlighting the need to develop an alternative to history. My thinking is aligned, on the one hand, with notions of the agency of images that have emerged from art criticism and visual culture studies (W.J.T. Mitchell), and, on the other hand, with the idea of theriomorphism, which I explore in terms of new animism, new totemism and philosophical ethology (Roberto Marchesini). In my analysis of works by the South African artist Nandipha Mntambo (cowhides and Europa), I argue that a future-oriented redefinition of the human should transcend the limited categories that have emerged within the framework of history understood as a Eurocentric approach to the past rooted in Greco-Judaic-Christian tradition.

本文表明，“历史思维与人类”问题要求扩大历史哲学领域。我的建议是从两个角度研究这个问题：首先，通过将其置于更广泛的哲学背景下，它越来越超越人文科学的界限，进入生命科学领域。其次，通过使用比历史哲学经典作品中通常更多的分析材料。我将批判性地反思历史的人类中心偏见，强调需要开发一种替代历史的方法。一方面，我的思想与艺术批评和视觉文化研究（WJT Mitchell）中出现的图像代理概念相吻合；另一方面，与“同形论”的思想相吻合，我从新万物有灵论，新图腾主义和哲学伦理学方面进行探讨（罗伯托·马尔凯西尼）。在我对南非艺术家Nandipha Mntambo（牛皮和木卫二），我认为，人类的面向未来的重新定义应该超越已出现历史的框架内理解为以欧洲为中心的方法来根植于希腊犹太-基督教传统，过去的种类有限。