Confronting The Spectacle Of The Other (than Human): Posthumanism And The Convergence Of Art, Aesthetics, And Ethics

Abstract

This project argues that humans should recognize the intersection of aesthetics and ethics in literature, film, and art that use or represent nonhuman animals. Too often, the right of artists to express their "message" trumps the ethical obligations humans should have to nonhumans. In this scenario, the materiality of nonhumans becomes subjugated to their role as semiotic content--as signs not bodies. Generally, this process of signification ignores the rich entanglements of history, biology, semiotics, materiality, and shared places. Also, this process can lead to negative consequences for nonhuman animals. In order to address these issues I posit a theory of entangled human and nonhuman lives termed a(e)s(th)et(ics), which not only addresses these entanglements, but also connections despite differences. For instance, although humans and nonhumans have different perceptual abilities that recognize different semiotic markers they remain connected through shared places.