When faced with the question of the non-human - or how do we work with the non-human - one may feel like they are being faced with an oxymoron. Attempting to define subjectivity outside of ourselves - as is done with the term the “non-human” raises a load of questions around what it means to attempt to decenter the human (specifically in the field of art) as through this term one is faced directly with the barrier of (ourselves) and what is (not ourselves). What also may be sparked, is the startling realization that the “non-human” incorporates all in which we interact with, from animal, to plant, to machine, to the cup I drink from, and the device you look down upon. And in many ways, our relationship to ourselves and each other. By putting words to meaning, with terms such as the “non-human” this barrier which leads to the seeming inability to “make with” and correspond with the world around us is cemented. It also insinuates our differences, which can be both necessary and dangerous.

In his book The Animal That Therefore I Am, Derrida investigates how throughout continental philosophy there has been placed a certain sense of melancholy and mourning applied to how we relate to nature due to its supposed stummheit or “lack of language”. Not only does this lead to the difficulties with assuming that spoken and written communication is the only means to finding understanding with one another, it reinforces a belief system where humans are allowed into a plane of knowledge or intelligence the rest of the world cannot. This supposed lack is what renders the “non-human” life around us as helpless, and inevitably often leads to an urge for repair, which without care can lead to acts of false reparation. According to Derrida, the application of a name to something or someone, draws attention to its mortality, this can be related to Blanchot’s theory of the fellow creature, finding communion through all living things inevitable death. This creates a double-edged sword where the act of naming can lead both to a bringing close – and a separation between ourselves and our surroundings.

we are working

Should Critical Theory Be Accessible?