Abstract
Public policy is framed in terms of the social contract based on extending rights to people of voting age. Dis-ability policy (at best) is framed in terms of the veil of ignorance, an awareness of intersectional disadvantage and its impact on welfare and being voiceless. However this paper makes the case that dis-Ability needs to be seen as a form of solidarity with differently abled sentient beings and that the boundaries between human beings and other living systems needs to be re-thought. A case is made for a recognition of concepts such as ‘natural inclusion’ and our interbeing and that focusing on ways to re-generate living systems ought to be mainstreamed in educational policies.
Judith Butler’s plea for a recognition of our shared vulnerability is highlighted as a departure point for policy. She stresses that recognition of shared vulnerability is as important as independence and individualism. Both aspects are relevant to a re-generative approach to social education, circular economics and sustainable environments. Interbeing is a concept increasingly recognised across the social sciences and natural sciences and holds in common some of the key concepts of Buddhism and many other religions. The paper proposes that solidarity with those who currently fall outside the mantle of protection by virtue of their age, gender, level of ability or species needs to be addressed.
This chapter builds and extends some of the ideas that have been developed over the years and expressed in a series of Springer volumes as detailed in the acknowledgements on page XX of this volume. In Systemic Ethics (McIntyre-Mills, 2014) I explore extending rights to other species by building on the work of Martha Nussbaum. My understanding of the continuity of living systems or what Rayner calls ‘natural inclusion’, or what Buddhists call ‘interbeing’ was fostered by mentors such as Adelaide Dlamini, an indigenous healer who taught me about the notion of connectivity across many species and Olive Veverbrandts in Alice Springs who taught me about totemic kinship with organic and inorganic life. These ideas led to “From Polarisation to Multispecies Relationships (McIntyre-Mills and Corcoran Nantes, 2021).
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Notes
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In Frontiers of Justice, Nussbaum (2006) stresses the need for the right to a life worth living to be extended to all sentient beings. Nussbaum’s (2011) ten capabilities are directly concerned with wellbeing, a life worth living and the extent to which these can be addressed. These capabilities, include: (1) living a life that is not cut short prematurely (2) bodily health, (3) bodily integrity, (4) sense, imagination, and thoughts,(5) emotions, (6) practical reason, (7) Affiliation, (8) links to other species, (9) Play, (10) Control over one’s environment. In Nussbaum’s version, the Capabilities approach focus on “the protection of areas of freedom so central that their removal makes a life not worthy of human dignity” (p31). Nussbaum, however, extends these capabilities to all sentient beings and thus a small step towards non-Anthropocentrism in terms of recognition of rights, but her focus is still on human development, not on the rights of animals and habitats.
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Butler (2010) stressed in a videoed conversation with Sunaura “that in this world we need each other, in order to meet our basic needs” Nominalist Way 6 videos (Examined Life—Judith Butler and Sunaura Taylor 720p.avi).”
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Cornish, R (2021) New pet owners urged to ask for help before surrendering animals post-lockdown. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-11/covid-dog-adoptions-returns/100365042
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We need to recognise that consciousness is a continuum. Elsewhere the case is made (see McIntyre-Mills, 2021a, b:153) that participation and the way we relate to others shapes the world we live: “Both Bohm and the Dalai Lama believe that perception, research design and measurement shape the way we see the world. Bohm designed an experiment to study waves and particles and explained that whether we ‘see’ a wave or a particle, depends on the process of measurement. Bohm’s interest in the relationship between the observer and the observed led to conversations with spiritual leaders including the Dalai Lama as they both considered that thinking matters quite literally. The Dalai Lama said that Bohm’s thinking and Buddhism have much in common, namely thought experiments and meditation on ‘what if scenarios’. The focus of their conversations was on relationships and the implications for knowledge and its potential for making a difference to the way we choose to live our lives. By thinking about our thinking we can try to address self-deception and what West Churchman (1979) called ‘the enemies within’. These are our assumptions and values that can cloud our thinking.”
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKWssIQplw8 The documentary, My octopus teacher released on Netflix was filled off the cost of South Africa. The documentary shows Craig Foster’s underwater journey to learn more about a kelp forest which he visits every day. He befriends an octopus who teaches him about transformation and resilience.
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Coughlan, A. 2002 Just 2.5% of DNA turns mice into men New Scientist https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2352-just-2-5-of-dna-turns-mice-into-men/
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Daniel Wahl with you. Recorded last month. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKBlGtzEJoo
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McIntyre-Mills, J.J. (2022). Dis-ability, Differently Abled and Sentient Beings: Transformative Regeneration: The Need for Public Education on Vulnerability and Interbeing. In: McIntyre-Mills, J.J., Corcoran-Nantes, Y. (eds) Transformative Education for Regeneration and Wellbeing. Contemporary Systems Thinking. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3258-8_10
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