“Rights of Things”

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-46
Author(s):  
Doris Schweitzer
Keyword(s):  
Animal Rights ◽  
New Materialism ◽  
Vanishing Point ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Rights Of Nature ◽  
Robot Rights

Abstract We can identify a legal vanishing point within neo-materialist and posthumanist approaches—either explicitly, for example, when things are regarded as political actors or contractual partners; or implicitly, when authors hint at the anthropocentric limitations of the granting of rights to human beings. Conversely, “rights of things” appear as a posthumanist approach to law as they decentralize “the human.” But do “rights of things” actually surmount the strict divide between humans (persona) and nonhumans (res) within law? By referring to three empirical cases—animal rights, rights of nature, and robot rights—I will argue that “rights of things” do not necessarily push against the anthropocentrism of law. Rather, we can identify a re-centralization of humans within a given milieu. Thus, the critical impact of the concept “rights of things” must be reconsidered; furthermore, we can draw some conclusions for the theoretical approaches of New Materialism and Posthumanism itself.

“Rights of Things”

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-46
Author(s):  
Doris Schweitzer
Keyword(s):  
Animal Rights ◽  
New Materialism ◽  
Vanishing Point ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Rights Of Nature ◽  
Robot Rights

We can identify a legal vanishing point within neo-materialist and posthumanist approaches—either explicitly, for example, when things are regarded as political actors or contractual partners; or implicitly, when authors hint at the anthropocentric limitations of the granting of rights to human beings. Conversely, “rights of things” appear as a posthumanist approach to law as they decentralize “the human.” But do “rights of things” actually surmount the strict divide between humans (persona) and nonhumans (res) within law? By referring to three empirical cases—animal rights, rights of nature, and robot rights—I will argue that “rights of things” do not necessarily push against the anthropocentrism of law. Rather, we can identify a re-centralization of humans within a given milieu. Thus, the critical impact of the concept “rights of things” must be reconsidered; furthermore, we can draw some conclusions for the theoretical approaches of New Materialism and Posthumanism itself.

The Head, the Hand, and Matter: New Materialism and the Politics of Knowledge

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 49-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Rekret
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
New Materialism ◽  
Political Agency ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Counter Narrative ◽  
Karen Barad ◽  
Material Turn ◽  
Material Conditions ◽  
Do So

This article seeks to examine the political connotations of a recent ‘material turn’ in social and political theory and its implications for theorizations of political agency. ‘New materialist’ theories are premised upon transcending the limits which social constructivism places upon thought, viewed as a reification of the division of subject and object and so a hubristic anthropocentrism which places human beings at the centre of social existence. Yet new materialist theories have tended to locate the conditions of the separation of mind and world they seek to overcome upon the terrain of epistemic or ethical error. By taking the work of Quentin Meillassoux, Jane Bennett and Karen Barad as exemplary, this article contends that new materialist theories not only fall short of their own materialist pretensions insofar as they do not interrogate the material conditions of the separation of the mental and material, but that the failure to do so has profound repercussions for the success of their accounts of political agency. This essay seeks to offer a counter-narrative to new materialist theories by situating the hierarchy between thought and world as a structural feature of capitalist social relations.

scholarly journals Animal Rights: A Philosophical Evaluation

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (Issue 4) ◽  
pp. 119-124
Author(s):  
Innocent Sanga
Keyword(s):  
Animal Rights ◽  
Moral Status ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Philosophical Debate ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
General Overview ◽  
Christian Perspective

Animal right is one of the most controversial issues in the contemporary world. A number of scholars have been discussing on whether the animals have rights like human beings or not. Through this debate, their opinions can be put into three groups; those who deny animal moral status, those who give some moral considerations to animals but deny them a fuller moral status, and those who extend rights to animals. This paper then gives a general overview on ‘Do Animals have Rights?’ It gives the meaning of the term “right” and explains whether the term right applies to animals too. It also portrays a drama whereby animals complain against sufferings imposed on them by human beings and a response given by a human being. It is also followed by philosophical debate on animal rights: pro and cons arguments. The Christian perspective is not left out. Finally, the paper ends with critical evaluations and conclusion. In evaluation of the debate on animal rights, the study found that, animals deserve to be treated well based on the argument that they have rights as animals. The main recommendation is that human beings should change their perception concerning animals by respecting animal.

scholarly journals Gold Mining and Political Struggles for Access in Banyuwangi, East Java

PCD Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-89
Author(s):  
Indah Surya Wardhani ◽  
Devy Dhian Cahyati
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Alternative Explanation ◽  
New Materialism ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
Structure Approach ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Political Struggles ◽  
Clean Air ◽  
Vital Element

This article explores how the materiality of natural resources influences social movements. Applying a relational paradigm and new materialism approach, this article explores the materiality of gold as a vital element of actor-network linkages, organisation, framing mechanisms, and recruitment. The transformation of gold from an ore into a mechanism for commodification reflects the interactions between capital holders, scientists, political actors, and legislators. This sociomaterial formation has limited residents' access to such resources as gold, water, land, wood, and clean air, and this momentum has given rise to a social movement in opposition to gold mining activities. This article shows that social movements are not monolithic, but rather dynamic movements that consist of various actors, issues, narratives, and strategies. This study focuses on the anti-mining movement in Tumpang Pitu, Banyuwangi, East Java, and its two decades of struggle to illustrate how the formation, networking, fragmentation, and evolution of social movements is influenced by their materiality (in this case, gold). This article finds that the commodification of gold influences movements' repertoires. This offers an alternative explanation for social movements, which have long been dominated by an actor–structure approach that views social movements as linear, monolithic, and constant collective actions that respond to marginalisation and injustice.

‘Living in a Material World’: Frankenstein and new materialism

2021 ◽  
pp. medhum-2021-012188
Author(s):  
Jasmine Yong Hall
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Physics ◽  
Ethics Of Care ◽  
New Materialism ◽  
Material World ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Playing God ◽  
New Framework

This paper uses concepts from Karen Barad’s theories from quantum physics and other theoretical approaches from new materialism to show how Frankenstein can be used to introduce this new framework and to challenge an older one based on dualism, representationalism and individualism. A new ethical understanding of the message of the text emerges from this reading—one that rethinks the prohibitions against ‘playing God’ or creating the unnatural and relies instead on an ethics of care.

Greening the Machine Question: Towards an Ecological Framework for Assessing Robot Rights

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua C. Gellers
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Ecological Framework ◽  
Legal Systems ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The World ◽  
Rights Of Nature ◽  
Robot Rights ◽  
The One ◽  
And Behavior

Could robots have rights? On the one hand, robots are becoming increasingly human-like in appearance and behavior. On the other hand, legal systems around the world are increasingly recognizing the rights of nonhuman entities. Observing these macro-level trends, in this paper I present an ecological framework for evaluating the conditions under which some robots might be considered eligible for certain rights. I argue that a critical, materialist, and broadly ecological interpretation of the environment, along with decisions by jurists establishing or upholding the rights of nature, support extension of rights to nonhuman entities like robots.

Night and Organization Studies

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (10) ◽  
pp. 1513-1527
Author(s):  
Monika Müller
Keyword(s):  
New Materialism ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Organization Studies ◽  
Time Space ◽  
And Control ◽  
Shed Light

In this essay, I want to shed light on the phenomena of night and nightwork as important topics which have been so far overlooked in organization studies. Inspired by insights of new materialism (Barad), I propose and investigate night as ‘time-space’, and present intertwined dimensions (temporal, spatial, social, material, etc.) of intra-actions between human beings and night. To better understand our intra-actions and entanglements with night, I provide a short historical overview which highlights past attempts to turn nightwork, once a forbidden and ungodly occupation, into a common and laudable one. I then discuss current efforts to manage and control certain dimensions of night (temporal/material and spatial/social) as well as aspects of night and nightwork that are not entirely manageable. The essay advocates going beyond traditional ontological dualisms by stressing our entanglements and intra-actions with night, thus advancing our understanding of nightwork, related bodily limitations and resistance at night. These topics call for further studies of organizations and work at night.

scholarly journals Religion, Political Actors, and Democratization: The Turkish Case

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 590-612
Author(s):  
Luca Ozzano
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Political History ◽  
The Political ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Turkish Case ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
Religious Actors

AbstractThis article is part of a special issue on the five Muslim democracies. It aims at understanding the role played by religion, and particularly by religiously oriented actors, in Turkey's democratization processes. The first section analyzes the different theoretical approaches to the role of religion in democratization. The second section analyzes the different phases of Turkey's political history since the 1980 coup, taking into account both democratization processes and the role played by religious actors in the political system, and trying to understand the possible relations between the two phenomena.

The Case for Animal Rights

Dialogue ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 669-676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh Lehman
Keyword(s):  
Animal Rights ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Moral Rights ◽  
Toxicity Tests ◽  
Wild Animals ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Moral Obligations ◽  
Moral Condemnation ◽  
Tom Regan

In his previous papers written on the topic of animal rights, Tom Regan argued that on the assumption that certain human beings have moral rights then so do certain animals. Here the argument is carried a stage further; Regan argues that some animals have certain moral rights. For the most part the book is taken up with criticizing alternative views concerning our moral obligations to animals and explaining and defending “The Rights View”. In the final chapter, Regan draws out the implications ofthe rights view. These include arguing for an obligation to be a vegetarian, moral condemnation of hunting and trapping of wild animals as well as of most of the uses of animals for scientific purposes. Animals are not to be used for toxicity tests, in education contexts or in scientific research even though this may produce beneficial consequences for humans and other animals. The book is very clearly written and well argued. It covers all important positions and arguments related t o the question of our moral obligations to animals. It is, I believe, the best book to appear on this subject to date.

scholarly journals On the Concept of Ecological Solidarity. What Connects Animal Rights with the Rights of Human Beings?

2018 ◽  
pp. 39-47
Author(s):  
Dorota Probucka
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Animal Rights ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Human Beings

The article consists of two parts. In the first one, I discuss the idea of ecological solidarity, which is interpreted by me as solidarity sensu largo resulting from the sense of belonging to a community of living and suffering beings. In the second part of the article I answer the question: what connects animal rights with the rights of human beings? In my opinion, if the European civilisation did not develop a category of solidarity, there would be no concept of human rights, and without the category of eco-solidarity there would be no concept of animal rights.

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