Posthumanism

Posthumanism, or the study of the post-human, is a growing philosophy based in science fiction, cultural studies, and contemporary art; it critiques Renaissance humanism by presenting a more imperfect human being with attention to the intellectual rigor of the being. Posthumanism is illustrated by the writing of Kathryn Hayles and Stelarc as hyperbolic extensions, and how Marshall McLuhan’s conception of an extension to the central nervous system in the electronic age touches upon it.

Stelarc defines posthumanism as the study of a being classified by obsolescence, and he maintains that this body is waiting for us to create far more superior ones, thus reconstructing, redefining and redesigning what we call ‘human.’ Stelarc mentions that "technology is what defines the meaning of being human, it's part of being human" (Stelarc,http://web.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/stelarc/a29-extended_body.html).

By “obsolescence,” he means that the body must be redesigned and reconsidered as a metamorphic structure enhanced by new, powerful technologies. Furthermore, Stelarc views the body as an object rather than a subject; this subjects the body to amplification technologies, deconstructive technologies, and reconstructive technologies. A common illustration with which Stelarc worked was the cybernetic organism, the most popular embodiment of the post-human.

Kathryn Hayles defines Posthumanism as a development of the human being such that humans can become well-structured in relation to intelligent technology. Hayles notes that the configurations of posthumanism stem from our specific understanding of history, humanism, and culture. According to Hayles, Posthumanism privileges information over materiality and acknowledges consciousness as an epiphenomenon and as a seat of human identity. In particular, Hayles mentions, "there are no essential differences or absolute demarcations between bodily existence and computer simulation, cybernetic mechanism and biological organism, robot technology and human goals" (Lecture 11, Hayles). Her perspective as illustrated by this Posthumanist view relies on the idea that the body is the main artificial element and that we learn to manipulate it and replace with other synthetic elements, thereby becoming a ceaseless extension of a process that began earlier.