Care Ethics, Bruno Latour, and the Anthropocene

Abstract

Bruno Latour is one of the founding figures in social network theory and a broadly influential systems thinker. Although his work has always been relational, little scholarship has engaged the relational morality, ontology, and epistemology of feminist care ethics with Latour’s actor–network theory. This article is intended as a translation and a prompt to spur further interactions. Latour’s recent publications, in particular, have focused on the new climate regime of the Anthropocene. Care theorists are just beginning to address posthuman approaches to care. The argument here is that Latourian analysis is helpful for such explorations, given that caring for the earth and its inhabitants is the dire moral challenge of our time. The aim here is not to characterize Latour as a care theorist but rather as a provocative scholar who has much to say that is significant to care thinking. We begin with a brief introduction to Latour’s scholarship and lexicon, followed by a discussion of care theorist Puig de la Bellacasa’s work on Latour. We then explore recent work on care and the environment consistent with a Latourian approach. The conclusion reinforces the notion that valuing relationality across humans and non-human matter is essential to confronting the Anthropocene.

Designing for Care

“…Yet, the most similar attempt to bridge CE and design thinking in the direction we pursue here is represented by the work of Hamington (Flower & Hamington, 2022 ; Hamington, 2019 ; Hamington & Sander-Staudt, 2011 ). In particular, he proposes “Caring Design” as the conceptual, mutually-enriching integration between care and design thinking, stressing that the “relational and responsive dimension of design thinking is analogous in some important ways, namely empathy and inquiry, to the relational and responsive approach of care ethics” (p. 91).…”

Feminist Care Ethics Confronts Mainstream Philosophy

“…In 'Care Ethics, Bruno Latour, and the Anthropocene', Michael Flower and Maurice Hamington engage the relational morality, ontology, and epistemology of feminist care ethics with Bruno Latour's actor-network theory [22]. Specifically, these authors focus on fostering dialogue between Latour's recent publications, which focus on the new climate regime of the Anthropocene, and the emerging literature on posthuman approaches to care.…”

Emergent dwelling. Requests for designing a human-scale and climate-proof lifetime house

“…1). Si riconoscono, in particolare, tre agenti principali: -una nuova cultura del rischio (Xu and Juan, 2021;Flower and Hamington, 2022;Glavan et al, 2022); -un più avanzato approccio alle questioni della sostenibilità (Rupprecht et al, 2020;Zhang et al, 2021;Tirado et al, 2022); -il radicamento della cultura digitale nella vita quotidiana (Carpo, 2012;Jain, 2020;Levin and Mamlok, 2021). Rischio, sostenibilità e pensiero digitale sono infatti le condizioni chiave del cambiamento in corso nella cultura sociale e tecnica.…”

“…-a new culture of risk (Xu and Juan, 2021;Flower and Hamington, 2022;Glavan et al, 2022); -a more advanced approach to sustainability (Rupprecht et al, 2020;Zhang et al, 2021;Tirado et al, 2022); -the presence of digital culture in the everyday life (Carpo, 2012;Jain, 2020;Levin and Mamlok, 2021). Indeed, risk, sustainability and digital thinking are the key conditions of the change in the social and technical culture.…”