Excesses of biopower

A bio and necropolitical analysis of microplastic circulation

Authors

  • Eva Girot University of Costa Rica (UCR) Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15517/r6ca9z48

Keywords:

endocrine disruption, circulation, plastic, biopolitics, microplastics

Abstract

This paper revisits Foucault's formulation of the excess of biopower (1976), employed to discuss atomic power, in order to contemplate the news of microplastic circulation in the biosphere. We will examine from a bio and necropolitical perspective the implications of microplastic circulation. Firstly, plastic will be addressed as a paradigmatic material of 20th-century late capitalism, exploring how its decomposition turns into microplastics. We will then show how the extensive and intensive circulation of this material destabilizes the Foucauldian notions of security, milieu, and regulatory power. Finally, the toxicity of this material will be exposed, along with its connection to the phenomenon of endocrine disruption as a form of necropolitics.

 

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Author Biography

  • Eva Girot, University of Costa Rica (UCR)

    (eva.girot@ucr.ac.cr) es estudiante del Posgrado en Filosofía de la Universidad de Costa Rica. Se ha interesado en problemas filosóficos relacionados con la escritura, el cuerpo, la biopolítica, y más recientemente ha incursionado en el área de la filosofía de la Biología, con especial interés en problemas filosóficos relacionados con la biología evolutiva de Lynn Margulis.

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Published

2025-08-14

Issue

Vol. 63 No. 167 (2024): Philosophy Journal

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Papers

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