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Agency and the Posthuman Shape of Law

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Abstract

The changes and transformations described in the previous chapters necessitate a reconsideration of human agency. However, it is important not to jump to conclusions: whereas it is clear that accounts of human privilege in agency are no longer sustainable, algorithms equally cannot be seen as the unconditional masters of (human) life. Instead, agency is demonstrated to be located in assemblages composed of humans, code, and technological artefacts that integrate and shape the contours of everyday life. In order to appropriately conceptualise the matter, this chapter turns to posthumanist thought, particularly its emphasis on the relationality and embeddedness of human existence. The outlook thus developed rejects the longstanding dominance of anthropocentrism and allows for multiple ways of treating nonhuman agents on par with human ones.

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  1. Department of Public Communication, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania

    Ignas Kalpokas

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  1. Ignas Kalpokas
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Kalpokas, I. (2019). Agency and the Posthuman Shape of Law. In: Algorithmic Governance. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31922-9_5

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