Donna Haraway on Cyborgs, “Oddkin” & Resisting the Monoculture of the Mind

“Thinking requires action and passion,” says feminist philosopher and scholar, Donna Haraway in this unique conversation. In her 1985 essay “A Cyborg Manifesto” and 2003 work, “The Companion Species Manifesto”, Haraway challenged patriarchal, capitalist, binary, species-ist ways of looking at the world. It’s no surprise that people are looking to her work again now. Generative thinking, she tells Laura, requires “taking the risk to try a new pattern; to invent something that may very well fall apart in your collective hands but leaves threads to be picked up again.” In this episode, Haraway and Flanders sit down for an expansive conversation about what it means to be human in an age of AI and resisting what she calls authoritarian “mono-thought.” Plus, a commentary from Laura on staying in the present and “staying with the trouble.” “An individual is embedded deeply in worlds with other people, with other organisms, with living and non-living parts of the world. To be a self is to come to a thicker appreciation and accountability for the way we're embedded in the world and act in the world. That's what I mean by being a proper self.” - Donna Haraway Guest: Donna Haraway: Distinguished Professor Emerita, University of California Santa Cruz, History of Consciousness Department; Author, A Cyborg Manifesto, When Species Meet, Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1 🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms: https://lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/donna-haraway-on-cyborgs-oddkin-resisting-the-monoculture-of-the-mind-episode-cut Podcast subscribers also receive the full, uncut conversation from this week's show: https://lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/donna-haraway-on-cyborgs-oddkin-resisting-the-monoculture-of-the-mind-full-uncut-conversation ✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/148397958 📚 Check out our Book of the Week on BOOKSHOP* “The Companion Species Manifesto: Dogs, People, and Significant Otherness” by Donna Haraway: https://bookshop.org/a/22992/9780971757585 (*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. LF&F is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.) Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners. 📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including a weekly newsletter and commentaries by Laura Flanders, subscribe on Substack: https://lauraflanders.substack.com/ Follow the show and Laura Flanders on Bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/lauraflanders.org https://bsky.app/profile/gritlaura.bsky.social DONATE TODAY at https://lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends 🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network. CREDITS: Executive Producer: Laura Flanders Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel Senior Producer: Jeremiah Cothren Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor Senior Video Editor: David Neumann Video Editor: Veronica Delgado Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper Development Director: Sarah Miller Communications Director: Janet Hernandez Thumbnail photo courtesy of Donna Haraway. 0:00 - Rethinking Binaries and Technology 5:09 - Resisting Authoritarianism 10:39 - Response-ability & Odd Kin 20:36 - How to stay with the trouble