posted on 2019-04-29, 23:47authored byAmalia Louisson
This article assesses the potential of a new materialist approach for those of colonial descent in Aotearoa New Zealand (Pakeha) to face environmental harms in a more accountable manner. Resisting a compartmentalised ethics, new materialism(s) puts forward an environmentalism that unravels nature-culture dualisms so that we can properly listen to the needs of other species. While it holds much promise, especially in the way that it shares more conceptual common ground with matauranga 'Maori (Maori worldview'), facilitating a better understanding of colonial accountability and providing richer ground for dialogue, thinking through its practice in Aotearoa New Zealand illustrates that new materialism could work as a colonising force; it all depends on how we interpret posthuman care.
PAN: Philosophy Activism Nature, No. 14, Dec 2018: 45-58