Overview

This book examines the importance of flat ontologies for law and sociolegal theory. Associated with the emergence of new materialism in the humanities and social sciences, the elaboration of flat ontologies challenges the binarism that has maintained the separation of culture from nature, and the human from the nonhuman. Although most work in legal theory and sociolegal studies continues to adopt a non-flat, anthropocentric and immaterial take on law, the critique of this perspective is becoming more and more influential. Engaging the increasing legal interest in flat ontologies, this book offers an account of the main theoretical perspectives, and their importance for law. Covering the work of the five major theorists in the area – Gabriel Tarde, Bruno Latour, Manuel DeLanda, Karen Barad and Graham Harman – the book aims to encourage this interest, as well as to explicate the important problems of and differences between these perspectives. Flat ontologies, the book demonstrates, can offer a valuable new perspective for understanding and thinking about law. This book will appeal mainly to scholars and students in legal theory and sociolegal studies; as well as others with interests in the posthumanist turn in philosophy and social theory.

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9781032577791

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Reviews

"""In his innovative work, Michał Dudek expands the normative binaries that sustain hierarchically normative ontologies in law by flattening such strata through dynamic, material, and communicative dimensionalities that reexamine the human and nonhuman, the social and nonsocial, the institutional and everyday. On Flat Ontologies and Law is a must-read for those who think deeply about law, life, and the realized in-between."" Sarah Marusek, University of Hawaii, USA. ""The intersection of law and flat ontologies is exerting considerable influence, challenging established hierarchies, and ushering in a new era in the legal landscape. Both timely and path-breaking, this convergence has the potential to reshape our understanding of law, offering new perspectives on inclusion and ethical considerations within the legal framework. By recognizing the status of all entities, whether human or non-human, this convergence fosters the emergence of new theories and adapted practices."" Anne Wagner, Université de Lille, France. ""This is a book not to be missed by anyone interested in the theory and philosophy of law. In addition to the more usual linguistic, psychological, social, and institutional dimensions of law, the author leads us to discover an often ignored but equally compelling facet: the material dimension of law."" Giuseppe Lorini, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy."

"""In his innovative work, Michał Dudek expands the normative binaries that sustain hierarchically normative ontologies in law by flattening such strata through dynamic, material, and communicative dimensionalities that reexamine the human and nonhuman, the social and nonsocial, the institutional and everyday. On Flat Ontologies and Law is a must-read for those who think deeply about law, life, and the realized in-between."" Sarah Marusek, University of Hawaii, USA. ""The intersection of law and flat ontologies is exerting considerable influence, challenging established hierarchies, and ushering in a new era in the legal landscape. Both timely and path-breaking, this convergence has the potential to reshape our understanding of law, offering new perspectives on inclusion and ethical considerations within the legal framework. By recognizing the status of all entities, whether human or non-human, this convergence fosters the emergence of new theories and adapted practices."" Anne Wagner, Université de Lille, France. ""This is a book not to be missed by anyone interested in the theory and philosophy of law. In addition to the more usual linguistic, psychological, social, and institutional dimensions of law, the author leads us to discover an often ignored but equally compelling facet: the material dimension of law."" Giuseppe Lorini, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy."

Author Information

Michał Dudek is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology of Law at the Faculty of Law and Administration, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland.

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