Olga Petrovskaya explores a groundbreaking domain: the application of posthumanist philosophy within the nursing field. By proposing an innovative perspective on the relational dynamics between humans and non-humans in healthcare, Petrovskaya illuminates the future possibilities of nursing in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. The research critically unpacks the conventional anthropocentric paradigm predominant in nursing and provides an alternative posthumanist framework to understand nursing practices. Thus, the importance of this work lies not merely in its contribution to nursing studies but also to the philosophy of futures studies.
Petrovskaya’s inquiry into posthumanist thought is a deep examination of the conventional humanist traditions and their limitations in contemporary healthcare. The research suggests that posthumanism, with its rejection of human-centric superiority and endorsement of complex human-nonhuman interrelations, offers a viable path to reformulate nursing practice. In doing so, the author nudges the academic and professional nursing community to rethink their conventional approaches and consider new methodologies that incorporate posthumanist ideas. As such, Petrovskaya’s work establishes a critical juncture in the discourse of futures studies, heralding a transformative approach to nursing.
Nursing and the Posthumanist Paradigm
Petrovskaya takes significant strides to unpack the posthumanist paradigm, emphasizing its pivotal role in reshaping the field of nursing. Posthumanism, as the author illustrates, moves away from the anthropocentric bias of traditional humanism, challenging the supremacy of human reason and universalism. This shift to a more inclusive and egalitarian lens transcends the human/non-human divide, acknowledging the intertwined assemblages of humans and non-human elements. Petrovskaya’s discussion of the posthumanist perspective further exposes the oppressive tendencies and environmental degradation tied to humanism’s colonial, sexist, and racist underpinnings. With its more nuanced approach to understanding the complex relationships between humans and non-human entities, posthumanism underscores the importance of material practices and the fluidity of subjectivities. Petrovskaya’s contribution is thus seminal in bridging this philosophical discourse with nursing practices, facilitating a more comprehensive understanding of their implications and potential transformations.
The application of posthumanist perspectives to nursing has substantial implications for the practice. Through her paper, Petrovskaya brings to light the dynamism and fluidity of nursing practices, suggesting they are not predetermined but are spaces where various versions of the human are formed and contested. This conceptualization echoes the posthumanist emphasis on the evolving nature of subjectivities and positions nursing practices as active agents in the production of these subjectivities. The idea of nursing practices as “worlds in the making” is a potent illustration of this agency, denoting not only a change in perspective but also a fundamental shift in understanding the role and function of nursing within the broader socio-cultural and philosophical context.
Futures of Philosophy and Nursing
The juxtaposition of philosophy and nursing in Petrovskaya’s research further extends the domain of nursing beyond its practical roots and illuminates its deep engagement with philosophical thought. Petrovskaya’s survey of various philosophical works, especially those underrepresented in Western philosophical discourse, underscores the importance of diversity in philosophical thought for nursing studies. Notable philosophers like Wollstonecraft, de Gouges, Yacob, and Amo, despite their contributions, often remain on the margins of mainstream philosophical discourse, mirroring the marginalization faced by nursing as a discipline in academic circles. Spinoza’s work, in particular, holds potential for fostering new insights into nursing practices, given its significance in shaping critical posthumanist thought. Petrovskaya’s work thereby serves as a catalyst for nurse scholars to engage more deeply with alternative philosophies, fostering a more inclusive, diverse, and nuanced understanding of nursing in posthuman times.
Petrovskaya’s research is especially pertinent to futures studies, an interdisciplinary field engaged with critical exploration of possible, plausible, and preferable futures. As the study positions nursing within a posthumanist context, it implicitly challenges the conventional anthropocentric worldview and opens the door to a future where human-nonhuman assemblages are central to the understanding of subjectivities and practice outcomes. These propositions represent a radical shift from current paradigms, setting the stage for a future where the entanglement of humans and nonhumans is recognized and embraced rather than ignored or oversimplified. The novel methodologies that Petrovskaya advocates for studying these assemblages can potentially drive futures studies towards more nuanced, complex, and inclusive explorations of what future nursing practices—and, by extension, human society—might look like.
Abstract
In this paper, I argue that critical posthumanism is a crucial tool in nursing philosophy and scholarship. Posthumanism entails a reconsideration of what ‘human’ is and a rejection of the whole tradition founding Western life in the 2500 years of our civilization as narrated in founding texts and embodied in governments, economic formations and everyday life. Through an overview of historical periods, texts and philosophy movements, I problematize humanism, showing how it centres white, heterosexual, able-bodied Man at the top of a hierarchy of beings, and runs counter to many current aspirations in nursing and other disciplines: decolonization, antiracism, anti-sexism and Indigenous resurgence. In nursing, the term humanism is often used colloquially to mean kind and humane; yet philosophically, humanism denotes a Western philosophical tradition whose tenets underpin much of nursing scholarship. These underpinnings of Western humanism have increasingly become problematic, especially since the 1960s motivating nurse scholars to engage with antihumanist and, recently, posthumanist theory. However, even current antihumanist nursing arguments manifest deep embeddedness in humanistic methodologies. I show both the problematic underside of humanism and critical posthumanism’s usefulness as a tool to fight injustice and examine the materiality of nursing practice. In doing so, I hope to persuade readers not to be afraid of understanding and employing this critical tool in nursing research and scholarship.
Farewell to humanism? Considerations for nursing philosophy and research in posthuman times