The Ontology of Feminism (A Postphenomenological Study to Come Later)

• In Event: Postphenomenology - III: The Boundaries of Humans and Technologies

Abstract

The work I have done on the horizontal and vertical integration of time as transduction has led to the development of what I call ontogenetic time. This is not linear or chronological time, but rather the dispersal of time into existence through individuation. Furthering the discussion of natality, Marjolein Oele’s theory of placentology accounts for the possibility of what she terms “ontogenetic becoming.” Similar to my work, she breaks with a linear genetic history of origin. In a daring investigation, Oele presents existence as individuation of the woman. I answer the question through the notion of ontogenesis, existence as creation. The question of being takes center stage in our analysis, with a focus on creation as opposed to politics, consciousness, or power structure. This ground has the potential to bring the four waves of feminism under one umbrella, "The Ontology of Feminism." An objection might arise that this precisely the deterministic essentialism that women have fought to twist free from. My response is ambiguous: on the one hand humanity is deterministic but on the other hand, human beings, given “substantial freedoms,” are free to choose their own lives. Without activism, substantial freedoms are foreclosed for much of the world’s population as is well documented in Martha Nussbaum’s “Capabilities Theory.” So this is not a treatise against activism. Rather, it is an attempt to find what is common - the creation of life - and put our theories to work in that area.

Author

• Roisin Lally, Gonzaga University