The Symbiotic Turn

How Posthumanism is Rewriting Our Relationship with Nature

Visualizing entanglement—the core concept of posthuman ecocriticism

Contents

Introduction: The Vanishing Boundary

In the sixth mass extinction event—our own geological era—a profound intellectual shift is underway. Where traditional environmentalism asked, "How do we save nature for humans?", a radical new framework emerges: "What if 'we' includes more than humans?" This is the pulse of posthuman ecocriticism, a theoretical revolution dismantling the fortress of human exceptionalism. When Serenella Iovino posed the deceptively simple question—"Where does the posthuman dwell?"—she exposed our conceptual crisis 6 . The answer lies not in fixed addresses but in dynamic entanglements: mycelial networks, algorithmic ecosystems, and cross-species narratives.

Interconnected network of roots and digital elements
Mycelial networks as metaphor for posthuman entanglement (Source: Unsplash)

This fusion of posthumanism and ecocriticism rejects the anthropocentric gaze, instead viewing life as a collaborative performance between humans, otters, mountains, AI, and even carbon molecules. As we'll explore, this isn't science fiction—it's a vital toolkit for reimagining survival on a damaged planet.

Key Concepts: Dismantling the Human Pyramid

Concept 1
Critiquing the Anthropocene Ego

Traditional ecocriticism often centered human experience—nature as victim, resource, or inspiration.

Concept 2
The Rise of Material Agency

New materialism declares matter itself "lively" and expressive.

Concept 3
Entanglement as Survival Strategy

Building lateral alliances across species boundaries.

1. Critiquing the Anthropocene Ego

Traditional ecocriticism often centered human experience—nature as victim, resource, or inspiration. Posthuman ecocriticism, however, confronts the "narcissism" of anthropocentrism . Norwegian ecosopher Arne Naess's gestalt ontology argues that organisms exist within nested hierarchies of wholes, where "internal relations" bind entities irreducibly 7 . This dissolves the fiction of human autonomy:

"We are not masters of a clockwork universe but participants in a murmuration—shaped by and shaping other agents at every scale."

This perspective challenges the traditional hierarchy that places humans at the apex of ecological importance. Instead, it proposes a flattened ontology where all entities—from bacteria to ecosystems—have agency and value.

Flocking starlings forming murmuration patterns

2. The Rise of Material Agency

New materialism—pioneered by Karen Barad and Jane Bennett—declares matter itself "lively" and expressive. Barad's concept of agential realism shows how phenomena emerge only through intra-actions: a mangrove root intra-acts with sediment, water, and bacteria to create coastline 3 . Similarly, Bennett's "vibrant matter" theory reveals how a plastic bag in the ocean exercises agency as a geological force . This redefines environmental harm: pollution isn't "passive waste" but an active, toxic participant in ecosystems.

Mangrove roots interacting with water
Agential Realism

Mangrove roots intra-acting with their environment to create new landforms.

Plastic pollution in ocean
Vibrant Matter

Plastic waste exercising agency as geological force in marine ecosystems.

3. Entanglement as Survival Strategy

Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam Trilogy epitomizes ecological posthumanism. Her "Crakers"—bioengineered humanoids—thrive by entangling with pigs (source of organ transplants) and microbes (digesters of toxins) 1 . Unlike Michel Houellebecq's Atomised, which envisions posthumanity via human obsolescence, Atwood's world builds lateral alliances across species boundaries. This reflects Donna Haraway's call for "making kin" beyond genetic ties—a necessity in a world where 60% of animal populations have vanished since 1970 1 3 .

Table 1: Humanist vs. Posthumanist Ecocriticism
Aspect Traditional Ecocriticism Posthuman Ecocriticism
Central Subject Human experience/nature as "other" Multi-species networks
Agency Location Human actors only Distributed (rocks, AI, lichen)
Ethical Goal Stewardship/preservation Co-flourishing in entanglement
Key Theorist Lawrence Buell Karen Barad, Rosi Braidotti
Literary Example Thoreau's Walden Atwood's Oryx and Crake

In-Depth: The "MaddAddam Experiment" as Posthuman Blueprint

Methodology: A Literary Thought Experiment

Atwood's trilogy (Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, MaddAddam) constructs a bioengineered pandemic apocalypse. Its "methodology" unfolds through:

  1. De-centering Humans: Protagonists include "Painballers" (feral humans), "Pigoons" (intelligent pigs), and "GloFish" (luminous aquatic sentinels).
  2. Hybrid Language: "God's Gardeners" hymns praise pollinators and bacteria, eroding linguistic hierarchies.
  3. Nonlinear Temporality: Pre- and post-collapse timelines braid, rejecting progress myths 1 .
Bioengineered organisms concept
Posthuman Hybridity

Atwood's vision of bioengineered organisms as partners in survival.

Results: Emergent Symbiosis

After the Waterless Flood pandemic, survival depends on:

  • Cross-Species Communication: The Crakers' singing pacifies predators.
  • Waste as Resource: Pigoons digest toxic waste, converting pollution into energy.
  • Tech-Bio Fusion: "Rejuvenotech" heals using spider-silk and mycelial networks.
Table 2: Agency Distribution in MaddAddam Trilogy
Entity Role Pre-Collapse Role Post-Collapse Agency Type
Pigoons Lab subjects (organ farms) Navigators/strategists Cognitive-spatial
Crakers "Perfected" humans Mediators/peacekeepers Emotional-diplomatic
GloFish Ornamental pets Toxin detectors Environmental monitoring
Biofilm Waste product Water purifier Metabolic

Analysis: Why This "Experiment" Matters

Atwood's world performs material ecocriticism in narrative form:

Storied Matter

A fallen beer can "narrates" its chemical impact on soil 3 .

Ethics of Response-ability

Humans must listen to nonhuman needs (e.g., respecting Pigoons' burial rituals).

Hope via Hybridity

Survival hinges on embracing mutation, not restoring "pure" nature 1 .

The Scientist's Toolkit: Key Frameworks in Posthuman Ecocriticism

Table 3: Essential Theoretical Reagents
Concept Primary Scholar Function Application Example
Agential Realism Karen Barad Dissolves subject-object binaries Analyzing toxic sludge as "actant" in literature
Vibrant Matter Jane Bennett Attributes vitality to non-organics Studying AI-terraforming collaborations
Biosemiotics Wendy Wheeler Decodes signs in nonhuman communication Interpreting forest mycelial networks
Rights of Nature Earth Jurisprudence Grants legal personhood to rivers/mountains Ecuador's Constitution (2008)

Conceptual Map: The Posthuman Ecocriticism Ecosystem

Posthumanism
Ecocriticism
Nonhuman Agency
Policy Change

Implications: Beyond the Ivory Tower

Policy Shifts

  • Rights of Nature Laws: Ecuador's constitution recognizes ecosystems as "rights-bearing entities," informed by posthuman ethics .
  • Conservation Reloaded: Tiger reserves designed with input from prey species' migration patterns.

Challenges Ahead

  • Agency vs. Action: If everything has agency, are humans absolved of responsibility? Solution: Emphasize response-ability—our heightened duty as hyper-connected agents 3 .
  • The Digital Dilemma: Can AI be an "ecological actor"? Posthuman ecocriticism explores server farms as "geological forces" (e.g., heat emissions reshaping microclimates) .

Conclusion: The House That Symbiosis Built

Posthuman ecocriticism isn't about erasing humans—it's about re-locating us within the web. As Oppermann declares, this field becomes "post-human, post-natural, and post-green," embracing polluted estuaries, cyborgized wildlife, and nano-bio hybrids as co-authors of our future 3 . Where Iovino's "nomadic biocultural Picaro" dwells isn't a fixed address but a dynamic pattern—a murmuration of human, viral, algorithmic, and fungal currents.

In the rubble of anthropocentrism, we find an unexpected hope: entanglement as resilience. As Atwood's Craker poet sings:

"Now we are the story / and the story is us / and the web is wide / wide."

Further Exploration

Read

The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Tsing (on matsutake capitalism)

Watch

Symbiotic Earth (documentary on Lynn Margulis's endosymbiosis theory)

Act

Join a Rights of Nature initiative (e.g., rightsofnature.org)

"The posthuman condition is not a dystopian endpoint but a continuous becoming-with."
—Rosi Braidotti, The Posthuman 6

References