ABSTRACT
The chapter explores quantum ontologies and the implications of these positions for agency and ethics through the work of Karen Barad (2007) and Alexander Wendt (2015). I argue while both of these authors successfully challenge substantialist ontologies and Newtonian understandings of causality as linear relations of push and pull. However, in contrast to Wendt’s limited challenge to extant understandings of agency and ethics centered on human intentions, Barad focuses on human/non-human entanglements and apparatuses of measurement to assess the inclusions/exclusions they entail in practices. Barad intra-agential agency resonates with materialism and Michel Foucault positions. It also raises the bar for adjudicating ethical decisions and emphasizes the centrality of practices, the ontological effects of our actions and our deep responsibility for how we inhabit the world.
