Journal of Shanghai University (Social Science Edition) ›› 2022, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (4): 17-33.

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Posthumanism at a Crossroads:Dangerous Vision, “Broken Earth” and the Search for Better Pathways

  

  • Online:2022-07-16 Published:2022-11-27

Abstract: In the new work Facing Gaia, Latour proposes the New Climatic Regime that further advances his idea of Actor-Network Theory(ANT), using the concept “waves of action” to activate material processes and suggesting that agency lies in the union of environment and organism. In this regard, Latour undoubtedly erases the distinction between material processes and organisms, emphasizing that a distinction must be made between actors and agents, with the former having intentionality, while the latter merely expressing the stakes in a metaphorical way. In response to Latour’s attempt to sociate Science and Religion in the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS), we should notice that the power of disconfirmation cannot be ignored, and that so-called facts are constructed in the midst of social, political, and scientific debates and contests. What is more alarming is that the “earthbound” versus “humans” dichotomy by Latour does not really bring about any positive change after erasing all authorities, nations, and states. In this sense, N.K. Jemisin’s science fiction trilogy “Broken Earth” is like a concrete experiment of Latour’s thought. By analyzing the intentional Earth, the struggle of social, political, economic and emotional forces under extreme conditions, we conclude that Latour’s vision is extremely dangerous. Acknowledging the specificity of living organisms as distinct from material processes, creating a new framework that initiates the unity of all life forms and opens the opportunity to build alliances between humans and non-humans might be a better pathway.

Key words: Posthumanism, Bruno Latour, N. K. Jemison, Gaia, Actor-Network