Working with Uncertainty: Liminality in Ecological Ethics

This chapter merges the postcolonial theory of liminality with anthropocentric concerns of animal rights, thus conceptualizing and challenging the boundaries between self and other, and humans and non-humans. It positions “the story” as a possibility in overcoming these theoretical barriers. The strategies of ecological “lateral thinkers” are shown, in part, to uncover the precarious nature of the present moment, enacting action and activism, all the while presenting alternative perspectives to engage with. In doing so they walk the tricky line between nihilism, brought on by eco-grief, and a re-imagining process “to settle troubled waters and rebuild quiet places” (Haraway, Staying with the Trouble 1). I argue that these ecological theorists advocate for an interstitial present as a modus of abnegation of the discursive limits placed on the human/nature binary. As such, there is a plea to embrace the perpetuity of change and “to build dialogical bridges between knowledge systems,” in recognition of the delicate and ever shifting connectivity that operates all life on this planet” (Rose 1). By outlining the cohabitation of species, a world of mutual flourishings is mapped. This process allows for the story of the biosphere to emerge, a story where human-animals, as a species, are players in the outcome. Shifting the perspective away from the individual presents risks of apathy, however, if this can be overcome it also opens up possibilities for collective collaborations. From this perspective, humanities scholars, artists, scientists and cultural custodians can cooperate in trans-disciplinarian assemblages. The story of earth and its entangled lives provides the necessary corridors for these connections to take place.