“I,” the Technological Post-human?
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Authors
Wawrzynski, Lindsey
McVicker, Jeanette, Dr.
Issue Date
2015
Type
Learning Object
Presentation
Presentation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Philosophy, Modern--21st century , Humanism , Technology--Philosophy
Alternative Title
Abstract
What is post-humanism? A question that cannot be completely and fully answered by anyone at this moment in time. Post-humanism is not a simple, straight forward topic nor is it a well-defined line in the way humans think. Post-humanism is not a decision or a philosophy to follow, it is more a way of thought and of living in a world where the focus is no longer directly and dominantly on the human. Even though experts in many disciplines have suggested that human thinking has shifted to the post-human frame, not everyone follows and/ or accepts this notion. There will never be a complete shift in focus away from the human while humans continue to conquer and rule the world. Also a shift cannot completely happen while humans are at the top of a simple pyramid frame of the world. To begin to understand the difference one must start by trying to understand humanism and its origins in western civilization, which is a topic in itself that is difficult to understand. The driving force for the shift from humanism to post-humanism is technology. A simple way of thinking about the dominance of humans in the world is a pyramid schematic of sorts where the very foundation is the Earth. The next layer contains animals, other than humans of course, and nature. Finally overlapping the previous layer at the very top of the pyramid are humans, ready to fall and let nature take over as it always will. Animals other than humans live in symbiosis with the Earth and nature, but humans do not. Humans have this insatiable need to conquer everything around them whether it be nature, animals, or other humans because they think they are the most intelligent and resourceful species. For this reason, humans get a separate "layer" that is at the very top of the pyramid.