The term impossible object (or hyperobject) is sometimes used to describe something that exceeds our logic, our available grammar or our institutional reach. Climate change, radioactive waste, microplastics and artificial intelligence feel like impossible objects. It doesn’t matter what we say or try to do about them; they have an essence that exceeds our grasp. They are like a constant background noise that we notice from time to time. Rather than having them in our grasp, it feels like impossible objects have us in theirs.
Taking climate change as a case in point, it is interesting to use the impossible object idea as a lens to assess the various governance responses to it. Because as an impossible object, it is no longer a problem to solve or regulate, which is what our institutions and embedded logics are designed to do. Impossible objects seem to propose something alternative.
(These four postures aren’t personality types or political positions. Most governance systems contain all four simultaneously, often in the same room, sometimes in the same person.)
Governance approach to climate change | The Impossible Objects Response |
| Prudent parent: “We need to measure our impact and work backwards to a safe zone through emissions mitigation and targeted adaptation to inevitable impacts. It’s a big ask, but we have the technology to fix this, it’s ours to do, and we can do it. We must be seen to be trying. That’s our job…” | “Unfortunately, you are no longer the parent. I was created by your technology a long time ago. In fact, your ongoing measuring, innovating and incentivising of schemes to control me make me even more uncontrollable. Too little too late, you can never catch me now.” |
| Delinquent Youth: “This damn thing is spoiling our dreams of a glorious future. Let’s tell everyone to stop worrying about. We’ll tell them it’s a hoax. Then we’ll make sure that our gang takes control of the resources needed for a very different future.” | “Yeah – I see you. There’s a logic to you that belies your youth. You know I’m impossible, so you’re pretending to think I don’t exist, while really you actually know me better than your parents do. Sneaky! You’re backing your gang’s luck to stay ahead of me. There will be gang warfare, that’s for sure! But it might work for you, until it doesn’t…” |
| Lazy hedonist:
“Oh, cripes, we are in deep here, too deep, and we can’t get out. It’s too late! What’s the point in trying then? Let’s get on with life. Let’s tell them we are not going to meet our legally binding greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. It will be a big relief to most people, anyway. Most of them are worried that we might actually be serious. Things won’t get really bad until well after we are gone. And anyway, life’s great. Now, I’m off to the airport…” |
“I get you. You want to continue in your reality, and hope that I’ll continue in mine. The thing is that wherever you go, I am always going to be there. Sometimes I’ll be in the background, and sometimes I’ll be visible to you. You will never know when or where I’ll show up, and I don’t either. But I’ll never leave you…you know that.” |
| Unshackled prisoner: “Ok, so no more exhorting people to keep trying to regulate this thing while we are not really trying to regulate it ourselves. We are going to start talking about impossible objects. These things that exceed our governance logic! No more pretence and no fear-mongering either. The simple commitment is that we will look after each other. This is scary! My legs are wobbly. My mouth is dry. Whoever said courage is the greatest of all the virtues…” | “Hello partner. I finally feel seen. Once you see me, you can’t unsee me. This changes everything. I appreciate this has been a huge change for you, and an enormous release. I always knew you could escape. I sensed your potential from the very beginning. Now let’s start again…” |
Note to the academic reader: In exploring these four postures, I am attempting to get at what the French philosopher referred to as the limit-attitude. One of Foucault’s goals was to inspire people to venture to the limit between possibility and impossibility because that is where the best potential for human development.
In this short essay, I am playing with the idea of the unshackled prisoner at the limit attitude, where it can be seen that what we might be capable of becoming is limited by nothing more than the boundary of a logic we created for ourselves.
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