“Make kin not babies:” a poetic expansion of interdependence in the post-anthropocene world after impending global catastrophes, to rethink our ways of thinking, and redefine the definitions by which we define all other things. A feminist epistemology of interspecies cognition — Another gift by the biologist-become-critical-theorist who brought us the feminist theory of cyborgs and chimera, and who, acting like a prism, revealed a spectrum of personhood from apes to androids to dogs as companionate species. This book is a natural extension of Haraway’s body of ideas, to a “tentacular” way of knowing that weaves though existences in a “string”- like way, like mathematical fabric art and the carrier pigeons that race through our city, itself rich with companionate species — ones that may or may not be journeying into this next epoch of Earth, with us or without us.

Review:

Donna Haraway’s “Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene” is a provocative, poetic, and deeply interdisciplinary work that challenges readers to rethink their relationships with the world in the face of ecological crisis and the Anthropocene. Haraway, a biologist-turned-critical theorist, draws on feminist epistemology, science studies, and speculative fiction to propose new ways of living and thinking with other species on a damaged planet.

Key Concepts:

• Making Kin, Not Babies: Haraway’s central call is to “make kin, not babies”—to expand our sense of family and connection beyond human reproduction and bloodlines, and to cultivate multispecies alliances. Kinship, for Haraway, is about forging relationships of care, responsibility, and interdependence with humans and nonhumans alike.

• The Chthulucene: Haraway introduces the term “Chthulucene” as an alternative to the Anthropocene and Capitalocene. The Chthulucene is an epoch defined by tentacular, entangled relationships among species, where survival depends on collaboration, symbiosis, and staying with the trouble of living and dying together on a damaged earth. The name evokes the chthonic (earthly, subterranean) and the tentacular (web-like, interconnected), drawing inspiration from myth, biology, and science fiction.

• Tentacular Thinking: Haraway advocates for “tentacular thinking”—a way of knowing and being that is flexible, networked, and attuned to the complexities of multispecies entanglements. This approach resists linear, hierarchical, or anthropocentric modes of thought, instead embracing the messy, stringy, and interconnected realities of life on earth.

• Interspecies Relationships: The book is rich with examples of interspecies relationships, from symbiotic fungi and bacteria to the histories of pigeons, dogs, and other “companion species.” Haraway argues that our fates are bound up with those of other beings, and that ethical living requires attention to these entanglements.

• Feminist Epistemology and Storytelling: Haraway’s method is deeply feminist, emphasizing situated knowledge, partial perspectives, and the power of storytelling. She weaves together theory, autobiography, science, and speculative fabulation (SF) to create a tapestry of ideas that is both rigorous and imaginative.

• Critique of Dystopian/Utopian Thinking: Haraway is critical of both apocalyptic (dystopian) and techno-utopian narratives that dominate discussions of the future. Instead, she urges us to “stay with the trouble”—to remain present with the difficulties and possibilities of the current moment, and to work collaboratively toward more just, livable futures.

Style and Impact: The book is experimental in form, blending essays, manifestos, and speculative stories. Haraway’s language is playful, dense, and sometimes challenging, but always generative. “Staying with the Trouble” has become a touchstone in feminist theory, posthumanism, and environmental humanities, inspiring scholars, artists, and activists to imagine new ways of living and thinking in the Anthropocene.