Posthumanism and Spirituality: A Philosophy to Live By | Paganism, Witchcraft & New Materialism

Hi friends! It's been a long time since I posted a video, so I apologize for my absence & hope you're all doing well :)
I'm returning to you with a (super long--sorry!) video on posthumanism and spirituality, which is meant to be a follow-up for my last video on Enlightenment humanism.
Posthumanism is a philosophical movement that arose in reaction to some of the issues with Enlightenment humanism, and is what some people have called a "post-dualistic," "post-anthropocentric" way of thinking. At the core of posthumanism and the related feminist philosophy of new materialism is an effort to dismantle modern hierarchies that privilege the human above all else (and sometimes, certain kinds of humans over others), while also challenging the assumed separation between nature and culture. In posing a direct challenge to Enlightenment humanism’s construction of the bounded, rational human subject, posthumanism also strives to subvert other taken-for-granted binaries foundational to modern narratives, such as the perceived dichotomies of human/nonhuman, self/other, and subject/object, as well as sacred/profane and material/spiritual.
In this video I discuss some of the connections that have been made between posthumanism and spirituality or religion, and explore how some forms of Paganism (both ancient and contemporary) and witchcraft can be seen to have some "posthumanist" tendencies. Materiality, embodiment, and kinship with more-than-human others are important to the practices and beliefs of many Pagans and witches, and I think posthumanism and new materialism can offer some teachings and perspectives that can go hand-in-hand with Paganism and witchcraft.
As always let me know your thoughts on any of this in the comments, and thanks for watching!
Watch my video on Enlightenment humanism: • The Problematic Legacy...
My spell jars video: • SPELL BOTTLES & JARS: ...
Follow me on Instagram: / skeptical.witch
Books discussed in this video:
Abram, Christopher. 2019. Evergreen Ash: Ecology and Catastrophe in Old Norse Myth and Literature. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.
Scott, Sabrina. 2019. Witchbody. Canada: Weiser Books.
(Check out Sabrina Scott on Instagram: / sabrinamscott )
Resources used for this video:
Alaimo, Stacy. 2010. Bodily Natures: Science, Environment, and the Material Self. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
Alaimo, Stacy. 2016. Exposed: Environmental Politics and Pleasures in Posthuman Times. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Barad, Karen. 2007. Meeting the Universe Halfway: Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning. Durham: Duke University Press.
Barad, Karen. 2017. "What Flashes Up: Theological-Political-Scientific Fragments." In Entangled Worlds: Religion, Science, and New Materialisms, edited by Catherine Keller and Mary-Jane Rubenstein, 21-88. New York: Fordham University Press.
Braidotti, Rosi. 2008. "In Spite of the Times: The Post-Secular Turn in Feminism." Theory, Culture and Society 25, no. 6: 1-24.
Braidotti, Rosi. 2013. The Posthuman. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Ferrando, Francesca. 2016. “Humans Have Always Been Posthuman: A Spiritual Genealogy of the Posthuman.” In Critical Posthumanism and Planetary Futures, edited by Debashish Banerji and Makarand R. Paranjape, 243-256. Springer.
Ferrando, Francesca. 2019. Philosophical Posthumanism. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Gaard, Greta. 2014. "Mindful New Materialisms: Buddhist Roots for Material Ecocriticism's Flourishing." In Material Ecocriticism, edited by Serenella Iovino and Serpil Opperman, 291-300. Bloomington: Indian University Press.
Haraway, Donna. 2016. Staying With the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene. Duke University Press.
Tsing, Anna, Heather Swanson, Elaine Gan, and Nils Bubandt (eds.). 2017. Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Singh, Julietta. 2018. Unthinking Mastery: Dehumanism and Decolonial Entanglements. Durham: Duke University Press.
Music in this video is Blossom by Lakey Inspired: • Blossom
#paganism #posthumanism #religiousstudies