Santiago Zabala, author of Signs from the Future. A Philosophy of Warnings (Columbia University Press, 2025)

Spending a day without being warned about climate change, nuclear threats, or artificial intelligence is challenging. We are constantly warned but seldom listen—that is, interpret and take action. This only happens when we are pressured and emotionally affected. People often stop smoking, for example, when someone close becomes ill rather than because of physicians' warnings. Their illness is seen as a sign from the future that calls for action because there is something they can do. Zabala’s new book not only explains why we’re unable to heed warnings but also distinguishes them from predictions. While predictions tell us to accept the inevitable, warnings ask us to take part in shaping a different future. Signs from the Future places thinkers such as Nietzsche, de Beauvoir, and Arendt…