Towards post-anthropocentric social work

Abstract

In this introductory chapter, we provide a rationale for the book and review the key theoretical underpinnings of critical posthumanism, new materialism and affect theory. Critical posthumanism, new materialism and affect theory are all predicated on a relational ontology which holds that things or entities (or people) do not precede or exist outside of relationships, but come into being through relationships. We consider how these newly emerging theoretical perspectives can address the social and environmental challenges facing social work in light of weaknesses in the dominant humanist paradigm which has shaped the profession. Furthermore, from a critical posthuman and new materialist perspective, it is impossible to separate ontology, epistemology and ethics, which means that knowing, being, doing and what matters/makes a difference are entangled. Such an ethico-onto-epistemological perspective would need to be brought into consideration to reimagine what a different social work scholarship and practice might look like. We conclude the chapter with an overview of the contributions by our authors who demonstrate what a post-anthropocentric social work means to them in specific contexts and fields of practice.