Homo Imperfectus: Animals, Machines, and the Quest for Humanity in Late Mediaeval France

What does it mean to be human, and what roles do (other) animals play in the answer to this perennial question? This project approaches mediaeval encyclopaedias, mechanical animals, and so-called animal trials in fifteenth-century Burgundy from an original anthropocritical perspective. These salient case studies constitute historical antecedents of the growing interest in the interplay between humans, nature, and artificial intelligence. In this manner, this investigation provides an important historical impulse to pressing debates surrounding the ecological footprint of humankind, the ethical implications of developing increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence, and the acknowledgment of nonhuman animals’ subjective rights.