H U M a N I M A L I A 1:2 Roberto Marchesini Alterity and the Non‑human Trans. Boria Sax The principal theme in posthumanist discussion may unequivocally be summed up in the phrase “alterità non humane” – non‑human otherness. We might even say that the philosophical treatment of this theme requires a broader framework, an expansion of the concept of otherness or alterity. The term “otherness” acquires its meaning in the context of close kinship, whether of an individual or group, and may be defined in two ways: 1) other entities as a basis for comparison – entities which are separate, strange, divergent, or foreign – out of which a subject emerges; 2) other entities as a point of orientation in a dialectic polarity, which may provide support in the construction of identity. This reveals the dual contribution of alterity to identity. Alterity mirrors the distinctiveness of a subject, thus helping that subject to reflect on its own identity. In addition, it is a bearer of references, thus providing others with external guidance and support in the gradual development of identity. Alterity is at one time both internal and external to identity, and consequently integrated and dialectical. This is the cleavage between a posthumanist approach to human identity, which integrates other things or qualities, and a humanistic approach, which purges all that is not human. But let us step back of a moment. In order to understand the posthuman endeavor to include the non‑human within the human dimension, a prerequisite for this analysis, it is first of all necessary to focus on the dialectic of identity and alterity within the human dimension, for example in the construction of individual or cultural identity. Up until the first half of the twentieth century to construct one’s identity meant to diverge, to distance oneself, and purify oneself of foreign elements. Afterwards, particularly since the 1970s, a concept of identify that would include alterity began to emerge. The others, then, were no longer contaminants to be purged but qualities to be absorbed. Reflection on the integrative quality of alterity, in psychology as in anthropology, has led to dramatic shifts in the concept of identity, thus abandoning the imposition of isolationist, solipsistic, or purist standards, in fact every concept of so‑called “firm” identity. This adjective refers to any identity that is easily singled out from an environment, which is contiguous with neither alterity nor contamination. It is an identity marked as being special, unique, and pure, which stands out against its background, untouched by