Natality as a Philosophy of Rebirth through the Acts of Mothering and Artistic Production

Abstract

This article presents the concept of “natality” as a philosophy about how people go through new beginnings or rebirths during their lives, focussing especially on how mothers are socially and symbolically reborn anew when they have children. When they are born or adopted, children make a profound and transformational impact on the lives of their mothers. Having a child entails a rebirth of the self for mothers. However, mothers also go through multiple rebirths as they and their families grow, age, and change. All women (and others identifying as mothers) go through a rite of passage when they become mothers, which is socially recognized and transforms their identities to that of mothers. More broadly, natality refers to a metaphysics of rebirth in the human experience. People change in many ways; thus, rebirth is a part of what it is to exist. 

Beginning as a philosophical examination of the concept of natality as explored most famously in the political philosophy of Hannah Arendt, this article is also a personal reflection, revealing how natality, birth, and rebirth emerged in my own life and work after I became a mother. For me, natality as rebirth has culminated in intellectual, philosophical, and artistic production—most recently, in my creation of Rebirth Tunnels, which are immersive matricentric art installations that participants move through to reach symbolic rebirth.