Life as a Political Problem: The Post-Human Turn in Political Theory

Abstract

The post-human turn in political theory has challenged the anthropocentric assumption that individuated human agency is the exclusive domain of political action, subjectivity, and community. Recently, there has emerged an important intersection between, on one hand, the “post-human turn” in political theory and, on the other hand, the critical studies of neoliberal governance and ideology, which define the contemporary historical moment in terms of the late capitalist monitoring, regulation, and exploitation of biological life of populations. In this context, the post-human turn in political theory has meant the extension of focus from human agency to include animals, plants, inanimate objects, and machines. Focusing on the work of Catherine Malabou, Maurizio Lazzarato, Brian Massumi, Brad Evans, and Julian Reid, I discuss some of the problems that arise from the attempt at non-anthropocentric theorizing of politics, including what it means—theoretically, politically, and epistemologically—to consider biological and machinic units in terms of political agency. I suggest that the problems encountered by these post-humanist contributions to the field of political theory are epistemological, analytical, and political. I focus in particular on whether the non-anthropocentric refiguring of politics offers new critical insights into, and resistances against, neoliberal governance. Bhandar B and Goldberg-Hiller J (eds) (2015) Plastic Materialities: Politics, Legality, and Metamorphosis in the work of Catherine Malabou. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. Evans B and Reid J (2014) Resilient Life: The Art of Living Dangerously. Cambridge: Polity Press. Lazzarato M (2014) Signs and Machines: Capitalism and the Production of Subjectivity (trans J D Jordan). Los Angeles, CA: Semiotext(e). Massumi B (2014) What Animals Teach us about Politics. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

As pós-humanidades críticas: uma área de pesquisa emergente para um futuro em mutação

“…Por consequência, qualquer argumento com base nas ciências biológicas pressupõe expressar um "poder de normalização, mas um poder que precisamente oculta sua relação com a norma e parece inscrever a lei dentro do organismo". Ao tratar a biologia como saber determinista e despolitizante, a investigação teórica esvazia todo um ramo da ciência de qualquer potencial emancipatório (Zolkos, 2018). Para Malabou (2015, p. 43, tradução nossa), a biologia merece ser repensada como capaz de produzir "sua própria simbolização", que "abre desde dentro a categoria da vida orgânica como um suplemento de indeterminação".…”

Insurrection training for post-human politics

“…Many post-human researchers reject the argument of post humanism as anti-political and present different approaches to agency, community and subject formation (Zolkos, 2018). Rosi Braidotti proposes that a critical post-human perspective offers the possibility for alternative subjectivities and political collectives.…”

“…Many post-human researchers reject the argument of post humanism as anti-political and present different approaches to agency, community and subject formation (Zolkos, 2018). Rosi Braidotti proposes that a critical post-human perspective offers the possibility for alternative subjectivities and political collectives.The task of critical theory consists in activating subjects to enter into new affective transversal assemblages, to co-create alternative ethical forces and political codes – in other words, to compose a missing people (2019, p. 49).…”