Intra-action

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Intra-Aktion (or intra-action ) is a neologism by Karen Barad that is currently establishing itself in the context of the philosophical current of ' New Materialisms ' and is rapidly gaining relevance in the feminist debate. Barad develops this neologism in contrast to the term interaction . While the former focuses on the related actors (e.g. in Bruno Latour's actor-network theory or Donna Haraway's concept of situated knowledge) and assumes the existence of independent entities, the concept of intra-action represents a conceptual shift, which looks at the relationship between two (human or non-human) actors.

Intra-Action can be described as the mutually influencing nature of interwoven capabilities or agency of matter . The matter materializes only through the intra-action, whereby the ability of this matter to act is independent of another entity . An example: A tree intra-acts with the matter around it (without humans having to be involved), the matter surrounding it (the earth, the air) is influenced by processes in the tree (processing of carbon dioxide, absorption of nutrients and Water from the ground) just as the earth and the air influence the tree, depending on what substances they contain (grow quickly or slowly, can reproduce; poison, become sick). With the concept of intra-action it is possible to grasp such relationships between things (and people) more precisely - something for example for environmental science research that deals with climate change or natural phenomena (and their effects on human life). Here in particular, Barad's approach, along with other neo-materialist operations, is of great importance. The fact that intra-actions do not require human presence is important here: "Intra-action are specific causal material enactments that may or may not involve 'humans'."

Sigrid Schmitz explains that in the Barad sense “there is no definable ontological entity with inherent properties. Instead, phenomena materialize only through dynamic intra-actions, in which discourses and meaning-generating activities, technical apparatus, subjects and material components are involved and interwoven. "

In contrast to interaction, the agents involved in an action cannot even be distinguished as independent, clearly delimited units before they become active within the phenomenon. Instead, they only constituted each other within the framework of the intra-action. Only then does it become clear where the boundaries run between them. Or to put it with Barad: The relata are original with their relation, they are constituted 'in one go' by the intra-action.

literature

  • Karen Barad: Posthumanist Performativity: Toward an Understanding of How Matter comes to Matter. In: Corinna Bath, Yvonne Bauer, Bettina Bock von Wülfingen (eds.): Thinking about materiality. Technological Embodiment Studies - Hybrid Artifacts, Posthuman Bodies. transcript, Bielefeld 2005, pp. 187-216.
  • Sigrid Schmitz: Karen Barad: Agent Realism as a Framework for Science & Technology Studies. In: Diana Lengersdorf, Matthias Wieser (eds.): Key works in Science & Technology Studies. Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2014, pp. 279–291.
  • Pia Garske: What's the "matter"? The concept of materiality of "New Materialism" and its consequences for feminist-political agency, in: PROKLA 174, vol. 44 / no. 1, 2014, pp. 111–129.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Karen Barad: Posthumanist Performativity. Toward an Understanding of How Matter comes to Matter. In: Corinna Bath, Yvonne Bauer, Bettina Bock von Wülfingen (eds.): Thinking about materiality. Technological Embodiment Studies - Hybrid Artifacts, Posthuman Bodies. transcript, Bielefeld 2005, p. 200.
  2. ^ Karen Barad: Posthumanist Performativity. Toward an Understanding of How Matter comes to Matter. In: Corinna Bath, Yvonne Bauer, Bettina Bock von Wülfingen (eds.): Thinking about materiality. Technological Embodiment Studies - Hybrid Artifacts, Posthuman Bodies. transcript, Bielefeld 2005, p. 202.
  3. ^ Sigrid Schmitz: Karen Barad: Agency Realism as a Framework for Science & Technology Studies. In: Diana Lengersdorf, Matthias Wieser (eds.): Key works in Science & Technology Studies. Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2014, p. 284.
  4. ↑ Pia Garske: What's the "matter"? The materiality concept of "New Materialism" and its consequences for feminist-political agency, 2014, p. 115.