The Ethics of Maintenance Against Natural Purpose

About this episode

"The Ethics of Maintenance: Against Natural Purpose" by philosopher Bry Willis, argues against the persistent human belief in telos, or the idea that history and existence are inherently moving toward a meaningful conclusion or natural purpose. Willis criticises the Enlightenment's concept of progress as propaganda that masks exploitation and maintains flawed structural systems, asserting that the obsession with "fixing" individuals rather than renovating the underlying architecture is absurd. The author proposes a philosophy of care and maintenance as a radical counter-force to decay, drawing on feminist thought that champions the essential, often-dismissed labour of repair over endless expansion. Ultimately, Willis concludes that humanity's true duty lies not in seeking meaning or progress, but in the humbling, ongoing task of conscious upkeep and rebuilding the social and material machinery we have constructed.