Posthumanism questions a world order where humans are at the top
Everything! That is the reply of Linda Tallberg, assistant professor in management and organisation. She conducts research where humans work with animals, also called human animal work in English. Her research area includes posthumanism, which is a relatively new area in organisational research. A posthuman view means that humans are seen in a relational manner with animals and nature.
- If we consider economics, business and management historically, these have often included the use of animals or nature in short-term perspectives benefitting small groups of people. This traditional mindset can be very limited in that it does not take into account the interconnections of well-being and value, Tallberg says.
Ethics and philosophy as core to posthumanist research
In a nutshell, there are two overlapping branches within posthumanism, Tallberg explains.
- One is a critique of Eurocentric Humanism. This means that everything is primarily seen from a human dualistic perspective foundational since the Enlightenment that perceives human beings as separate from other life, and all knowledge is mirrored through that perspective. The other branch is post-anthropocentrism, a critique of the hierarchical mindset about what and who are considered to be of value.
There are many philosophical terms that may require a little more explanation. In the term posthumanism, where “post” means “after”, the concept thus means “after humanism”. As far as humanism is concerned, in a philosophical sense it means that humans have a value that must not be violated.
- Various researchers use posthumanism in different ways, but centrally it is about what it means to be human today in an increasingly complex environment, Tallberg explains. The other term Tallberg mentions, post-anthropocentrism, means “after anthropocentrism”. Anthropocentrism refers to a view in which humans are at the centre of all life, and consequently post-anthropocentrism is a way of questioning that view.
In posthumanist research, both terms are used, often overlappingly. The relationship between the human and what is not human is used as the basis in posthumanism research. What is considered to be nonhuman includes, for example, artificial intelligence, animals and nature, Tallberg explains.
- Our relationship with nonhumans is a basic aspect of posthumanism. It is about seeing a wider perspective of human and nonhuman entanglements in everyday life. Anthropocentrism is often depicted as a hierarchical pyramid where humans, or usually a man, is at the top, below him a woman, then perhaps a dog or a cat. When science and other societally valued aspects are seen from this hierarchical perspective, those without traditional power are placed lower on the list and thus often disregarded.
Another important factor within posthumanist research that Tallberg emphasises, is a broader ethical mindset.
- Here, businesses and organisations have more work to do, for example within areas like sustainability and corporate responsibility to include those marginalised. Posthumanism may give a critical insight to our current economic system that is often based on a narrow way of thinking and is one of the reasons that we have much business activity based on exploiting humans, animals and nature.
Valuations, money and emotions
Let us back-track a bit. In the start of the 2000s, Tallberg worked in the oil industry. Over an extended period, she experienced that her own values conflicted with those of the industry. Sustainability was not yet a theme that everybody talked about in the way we do today. In addition, in the oil industry emotions were not much discussed or shown, whereas profit was the sole motivator. This made her interested in researching emotions and well-being at work.
- My initial research idea was focused on understanding workplace emotions in a deeper sense: are there workplaces where employee values align with those of the organisation? This made me think of non-profit organisations which often have a very high ideological influence on why people work there, Tallberg says.
Tallberg’s path led to an animal shelter in Australia, and her doctoral thesis from 2014, which is about human-animal relations at work, is based on her autoethnographic research there. Autoethnographic research means that you use yourself as part of the research. Tallberg used her own experiences from working in the organisational culture, in addition to interviews and observations as data material for her research.
- I joined a very large animal welfare organisation where I first worked as a volunteer and collected interviews. Still, I felt that something was missing, as many things remained unclear about the work relationship when I myself did not experience what the employees did in their day-to-day work. Therefore, I completed an internship, and ultimately, I was hired as an animal attendant, otherwise the data material would not have been possible to collect.
The topic of Tallberg’s PhD was emotions and power in animal organisations. In addition to the question of what animals have to do with organisations and business, she has often received questions about emotions in scientific research.
- When we talk about emotions, power is an important theme as it is about whose experiences, feelings, thoughts, actions and rights that are at stake and how this is exercised in practice. Mostly, the research shows that animal and employee well-being go hand in hand, Tallberg states
Seeing other perspectives than only the human
Right now, Tallberg is working on a book to be published in 2022. The book is based on multidisciplinary scientific research on human-animal relationships in organisations and society creating a new field, Animal Organisational Studies. The book discusses, among other things, what it means that we currently have a society, organisations and businesses that do not fully consider that humans live with nonhumans in a shared world.
- The results of such a limited view can be seen all around us, such as the climate crisis or the Coronavirus. Both are examples that suggest that humans do not take into consideration the effects of how we live together with animals and nature, or the business values we advocate. It is short-sighted to exploit others for purposes of creating profit only - ultimately somebody always pays the costs of unsustainable business activities or consumption. Ethically, this is very problematic, and at the same time not a very smart way to live in a shared world - we cannot exist well without clean nature, air and water.
It is important for Tallberg to teach on these topics at Hanken. Her new research focuses on attempts to create a more post-anthropocentric business education through emphasising critical perspectives on large-scale systemic challenges, such as in the food industry. Many students express a large interest in ethical questions that deal with animals, she says.
- It is important that the theories and perspectives we teach include a broader portfolio of various values, and that we help the students think critically and question assumptions that have been taken for granted. Profit maximisation is often not very sustainable, yet this is still a foundational value at many business schools, and that is problematic.
Linda Tallberg conducts research in Responsible Organisation, an Area of Strength at Hanken.
Read more, and links to Tallberg’s research:
Article on a stakeholder theory that includes nonhumans: Human–Animal Relations in Business and Society: Advancing the Feminist Interpretation of Stakeholder Theory and Animals as tourism stakeholders: Huskies, reindeers and horses working in Lapland
Article on the paradox of working with animals: Killing Them ‘Softly’ (!): Exploring Work Experiences in Care-Based Animal Dirty Work
Article on post-anthropocentric business education: (not yet published)
Article on alternative research methods: The “Green Mile”: crystallisation ethnography in an emotive context and Can methods do good? Ethnology and multi-species research as a response to Covid-19
Text: Camilla Berghäll
Photos: Halfpoint/Istock, Jakob Cotton/Unsplash, desdemona72/Shutterstock