Course:WMST 307: Student Pages: 307:Jacob Park Posthumanism
A theorist of literature, Hassan is quoted to have said “humanism may be coming to an end as humanism transforms itself into something must helplessly call posthumanism.” [1] This view refers to the various ways in which the term ‘posthumanism’ has been used in the 20th century by different groups in different ways, but are together complementary with each other. O'Brien defines posthumanism as “a philosophy of questions, concepts” that deal with the “tradition of humanism”, which encompasses identity, subjectivity and consciousness [2]. It predicates on the notion that humans are unique, superior lifeforms. Badmington, author of the book Posthumanism defines posthumanism as “a cultural direction which strives to move beyond archaic concepts of “human nature” to develop ones which constantly adapt to contemporary techniscientific knowledge.”[3] Essentially, it describes the cultural propensity to promote a lifeform superior to that of a human with the aid of science and technology (see Donna Haraway’s A Cyborg Manifesto). Posthumanism is also used as a synonym to ‘transhumanism’, which Bostrom, describes as the ideology that utilizes the available science and technology to improve human mental, physical potential and eliminate aging[4]. Posthumanism can also refer to the ‘posthuman condition’, which refers to the deconstruction of the human condition by critical theorists[5].
The definitions described above all share at its core the prefix, ‘post ‘referring to "after” or “beyond" and the root word 'humanism' referring to the concern of people. The definitions differ in the window through which humans are thought to be able to transcend the past and current state of human, whether it be through culturally, philosophically, or technologically. However, the term posthumanism depends on heavily on the ontological and epistemological questions that are present at a certain chronological period, drawing from the existing and modern ideas, and contemporary popular culture. In this respect, it is an ever perpetually evolving definition. While popular culture productions such as Ghost in the Shell[6] paints a certain picture of the amalgamation between man and machine(i.e. the cyborg), that depiction of the posthuman will be transformed and molded by the people, culture and technology of the upcoming decades and centuries. As the boundaries between man and machine become thinner, and humans streamline the ability to transcend the limitations of the body and the brain, we may foresee the abolishment of sex and gender as we create artificial means for all humans to be able to artificially reproduce, compete, perform, and live.
[1] Hassan, Ihab. "Prometheus as Performer: Toward a Postmodern Culture?". (1977)
[2] O'Brien, Susan. Popular Culture, Second Ed. (2010)
[3] Badmington, Neil. "Posthumanism." Readers in Cultural Criticism. (2000)
[4] Bostrom, Nick. "A history of transhumanist thought. (2006)
[5] Hayles, N. Katherine. How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics. (1999)
[6] Oshii, Mamoru. Ghost in the Shell. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113568/. (1995)