Yes, Ng Yu-Kwan’s phenomenology of pure vitality is conceptually compatible with Karen Barad’s agential realism, as both frameworks emphasize the dynamic, interconnected, and participatory nature of reality. While they arise from different intellectual traditions, they share several core ideas that allow them to resonate with each other.
1. Dynamic, Inseparable Reality: Both Ng’s pure vitality and Barad’s agential realism reject fixed, stable boundaries between entities. For Ng, pure vitality is an ever-active force underlying all phenomena, where essence and function are inseparable. In Barad’s agential realism, entities do not pre-exist their relations but come into being through “intra-actions”—interactions that fundamentally shape what and how entities are. This view aligns with Ng’s idea that pure vitality expresses itself as phenomena rather than through rigid separations between subjects and objects.
2. Non-Duality and Intra-Activity: Barad’s concept of intra-action, in which phenomena and agencies are co-constituted through their interactions, mirrors Ng’s notion that essence and function are not separate but inherently unified within pure vitality. Both frameworks view distinctions as emergent properties rather than pre-given structures, suggesting that entities are relational and interdependent. For Ng, this unification is inherent in pure vitality, while Barad sees it in the entangled agencies that emerge through intra-actions.
3. Observer and Observed as Co-Creators: Ng’s phenomenology suggests that intuitive wisdom and intellect interact with the phenomenal world, influencing its manifestation. Similarly, Barad’s agential realism holds that the act of observation is not passive but actively shapes the reality observed. Barad builds on quantum physics, where measurement doesn’t merely reveal a pre-existing reality but actually participates in bringing it into being. Both frameworks affirm that observation and engagement are not separate from phenomena but integral to their nature.
4. Process of Becoming: Both approaches embrace a reality that is always “becoming” rather than being a set of static entities. For Ng, pure vitality manifests dynamically, continually differentiating and expressing itself in transient forms. Barad’s agential realism also emphasizes a world of ongoing processes, where matter and meaning are not separate but co-constituted. This processual view resonates with the idea of a world defined by pure vitality, in which reality is an unfolding, interconnected expression rather than a collection of fixed parts.
5. Ethics and Responsibility: Agential realism emphasizes an ethical responsibility because our intra-actions shape reality; we are accountable for the realities we help create. Ng’s phenomenology of pure vitality suggests that recognizing all phenomena as manifestations of a unified vitality also carries ethical implications, inviting us to engage creatively and ethically. Both frameworks emphasize an ethical orientation rooted in an understanding of interconnectedness and interdependence.
In sum, Ng’s phenomenology of pure vitality and Barad’s agential realism both provide metaphysical frameworks that reject rigid boundaries, embrace relationality, and affirm the dynamic and participatory nature of reality. This compatibility enriches both philosophies, allowing them to complement each other in articulating a world where entities, meanings, and ethics arise through interdependent processes.
