Open AccessOut of the Depths: Engineering, Submersibles and Assemblages
Author(s) -
John Reader
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of engineering, social justice, and peace
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1927-9434
DOI - 10.24908/ijesjp.v4i1.5443
Subject(s) - overfishing , climate change , autonomy , relevance (law) , assemblage (archaeology) , environmental ethics , environmental resource management , environmental planning , environmental science , political science , geography , oceanography , geology , law , archaeology , fishing , philosophy
Environmental concerns about the state of the world’s oceans have been growing over recent years, particularly as acidification, overfishing and the limited capacity of the oceans to absorb CO2 from climate change have come to the fore. Engineering practices and innovations in a number of forms are of direct relevance to this, notably through a concern to develop engineering in such a way as to be for the benefit of all, including the non-human world. This article argues that assemblage theory offers an alternative way of understanding how culture is always already a part of nature, and that human autonomy has to be seen as constrained and limited if the worst effects of pollution and climate change are to be addressed.