Attuning to Absence in the Posthuman University: An Aporia on Non-Knowing and Meontological Time

Abstract: If the posthuman university is desirable and possible, it cannot be built on the foundations of the humanist university. The ontological and epistemological foundations of the latter can’t simply be assumed and left unchallenged and unchanged as the axiological matterings of this institution are re-imagined for posthuman times. This paper suggests Daoism, a non-humanist, non-theistic worldview with an emphasis on harmony with nature, species interdependence, and non-hierarchical thinking, as a counterpoint to the dominant Western humanist framework, and an alternate way of understanding the world and the university. Specifically, I highlight the role of Daoist non-knowing and meontological time in the posthuman university as a rejection of the humanist university’s ideals of knowledge production and output-oriented linear temporality, while also gesturing toward multispecies justice for livable futures on planet Earth.