Ontological Politics - short description

For those interested in 'ontological politics' // or how can you avoid it? // I found this citation from Annmarie Mol on a blog by Ailsa from New Zealand, and I re-cite the blog here:

ontological politics and multiple realities

Establishing a talking familiarity with the jargon.

Annemarie Mol(in Actor Network Theory and After, 1999, pages 74-75) describes
"Ontological politics as a composite term. It talks of ontology - which in standard philosophical parlance defines what belongs to the real, the conditions of possibility we live with. If the term ontology is defined with that of politics, then this suggests that the conditions of possibility are not given. That reality does not precede the mundane practices in which we interact with it, but is rather shaped within these practices."
and that the term politics refers to this shaping.

The politics then of 'whats real'.
And of what 'reals' are enacted.
It is this second question that opens the discussion to consider the multiple realities that are being enacted, concurrently.

Original location of blog post is on "a musing space; a performance in progress".

Comments

ailsa said…
Thanks for the acknowledgement and link to my blog. You have a really interesting study going on Henrick, fascinated by how plants contribute to empowerment, what an interesting way to reconfigure empowerment. Mine's vaguely similar, in that humble text messaging reconfigures a community. ailsa.
Henrik Ernstson said…
Thank you for your interest in reading some on my blog. Yes, studying collective action through a post-humanist and material semiotic lens is rewarding as it sensitizes me to things I would never have observed before. Lets keep in touch! /Henrik
jaylen watkins said…
Thanks for making clear ontological politics.

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