User talk:ObscuraScientia/sandbox

We could work here too if you want to use your sandbox user:ObscuraScientia -Laurhur (talk) 00:24, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

Okay! Let's work here. --ObscuraScientia (talk) 00:25, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

Okay This looks like a good place to start! user:ObscuraScientia -Laurhur (talk) 00:31, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

Let's edit try starting by editing this text below from Posthumanism User:Laurhur

Hello! User:Laurhur I've just added a few paragraphs in [bold] font below. Let me know what you think. We can always make changes, add citations, and hyperlinks as needed. --ObscuraScientia (talk) 02:45, 5 October 2015 (UTC)

Hi User:ObscuraScientia! I am going get to this on Thursday and Friday - really busy week! I just didn't want you to think I had forgotten or that I am not going to do anything! I hope thats okay. Let me know if you'd prefer I look sooner. If needed, I think I can work on it a bit tomorrow when I am at work... --Laurhur (talk) 20:48, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

Hi AgainUser:ObscuraScientia. A couple thoughts- Posthumanism is overwhelming when you try to define it! I was not even sure where to begin and that led me to this book chapter that traces the historical path of "posthumanism". I was interested in this because I wanted to know some basic stuff like who used the term first and when. I am going to read this and try to figure out if it deserves a paragraph or if I should use it to amend various portions of the already existing text. Which brings me to the already existing text. I like what you added! I have added some questions in parenthesis in one of your paragraphs and have added a first paragraph. I also am reading the Cary source now so I might have more later. I have also added some info about my plans/thoughts for historically tracing the term. I think we should add something on the "Posthuman" page under the Posthumanism section, maybe a sentence about how donna haraway abandoned the term in favor of companion species (from the interview) and possibly a quick 1 sentence overview of the term historically and contested definitions. I will work on adding these in. I will be doing all of this tonight and tomorrow morning - I just wanted to keep you updated on my plans for edits. -- More soon! Laurhur (talk) 19:05, 8 October 2015 (UTC)

Hi AgainUser:ObscuraScientia -- acouple more thoughts. I think philosophical posthumanism should come before cultural theory because cultural theory build out the main tenets of posthumanism and then philosophical posthumanism takes it futher to address the (ethical) implications postulated by posthumanistic ideas. What you you think? Also I think transhumanism should have its own page on not be on the Posthuman page, thoughts? I don't know if that is outside of the scope of this assignment but i do think its an edit that is needed. Lastly (for now), I think that the intro to "post human" really doesnt capture the various ideas about that nature of the posthuman and various vewipoints; but again, perhaps that is outside the scope of this assignment. I am making edits in a word doc now and will post below later today.--2604:2000:71AB:1100:DCE6:18B9:C891:4006 (talk) 15:18, 10 October 2015 (UTC)

Hello User:Laurhur! I think your suggestions about adding information about a cultural and historical context is great! I've been working to fix the citations and add hyperlinks in the text. Right now, I'm not sure about the blocked quote at the bottom, but for the time being, I've decided to leave it there as it was part of the original text. We have a difficult time showing which parts we've added, and which were original seeing as we've added paragraphs in several places. Overall, I think its relatively cohesive. At the very bottom, I've also added a tiny blurb from the Haraway interview, which I think deserves some mention. Please be sure to look things over, and make edits where you think they are needed. Later this evening, or tomorrow morning, I'd like to add our edits to the section. Thanks for all of your work on this! --ObscuraScientia (talk) 16:16, 11 October 2015 (UTC)

Hi User:ObscuraScientia I hope you had a nice weekend! I still have a bunch od adding and editing to do, which I am starting on now. I also added some stuff from the haraway interview ( I have my language in a word doc) so I will work on fitting that in with yours. I will also fix up my references this morning (its so tedious!). Ill leave another message here when I am done editing. I am happy to help move this over to the real entry though Im not sure both of us can work on that at the same time. Just let me know how you want to handle that and I will help in any way I can. --2604:2000:71AB:1100:8956:DB13:F7A8:FA29 (talk) 12:42, 12 October 2015 (UTC)

Hi User:ObscuraScientia A couple last thoughts -- I would be in favor of removing the last paragraph and the block quote it is associated with for 3 reasons. It equates posthumanism with transhumanism (which I believe is incorrect), its more focused on transhumanism (which I think should have its own page), and it uses a block quote (which we are trying to avoid. What do you think? I have added my edits in and would be happy to begin moving it over to the real page but I will wait for you to look it over. Keep me posted! Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Laurhur (talk • contribs) 14:04, 12 October 2015 (UTC)

Hello User:Laurhur! Please go ahead and make any edits you think are necessary. The sections that you've added on Hayles seem good. I've moved the last section, with the block quote and the blurb about Haraway, to the Criticisms section of the page. Moving the text over is not so difficult, I think, and as far as I can tell the citations auto-adjust. Let me know if you'd be willing to do this when you're done editing. I think we should also send the instructor an email or even message him through Wiki to know that our portion has been added. Looks good so far! I am excited about seeing the final product!

Hello User:Laurhur, just a heads-up, that we should try to get the changes posted soon. I made a change to the Criticisms section and it was already reverted by another user. I am trying to talk with them now about undoing the reversion and leaving it. If someone decides to revert changes we've made, then our work is nullified and it would be good to know in advance. Just keeping you posted! Let me know when you're ready to move things over. Thanks! --ObscuraScientia (talk) 14:43, 12 October 2015 (UTC)

Hey User:ObscuraScientia, I am ready to move whenever. How shoudlw e do this? Also I think we are supposed to send Michael a message on his talk page (once we add the info) or maybe we can mention him here and he can come look at our work below and also see it on the page. Interesting that it was already reverted! I guess lets make our changes and see what happens but be sure to leave them here as well so he and lisa can see what we did (or tried to do..) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Laurhur (talk • contribs) 14:49, 12 October 2015 (UTC)

Hello User:Laurhur, I've posted our updates. Please be sure to have a look: Posthumanism. Have a look and let me know if its good to go. I will then write on the instructor's Talk page. Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by ObscuraScientia (talk • contribs) 18:22, 12 October 2015 (UTC)

• • • • • EDIT TEXT BELOW THIS LINE***** — Preceding unsigned comment added by ObscuraScientia (talk • contribs) 00:34, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

Posthumanism or post-humanism (meaning "after humanism" or "beyond humanism") is a term with five definitions:

1. Antihumanism: any theory that is critical of traditional humanism and traditional ideas about humanity and the human condition.
2. Cultural Posthumanism: a branch of cultural theory critical of the foundational assumptions of Renaissance humanism and its legacy. that examines and questions the historical notions of “human” and "human nature”, often challenging typical notions of human subjectivity and embodiment and strives to move beyond archaic concepts of "human nature" to develop ones which constantly adapt to contemporary technoscientific knowledge.
3. Philosophical Posthumanism: a philosophical direction which draws on cultural posthumanism, the philosophical strand examines the ethical implications of expanding the circle of moral concern and extending subjectivities beyond the human species
4. Posthuman Condition: the deconstruction of the human condition by critical theorists.
5. Transhumanism: an ideology and movement which seeks to develop and make available technologies that eliminate aging and greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities, in order to achieve a "posthuman future".

Emergence of philosophical posthumanism

Ihab Hassan, theorist in the academic study of literature, once stated:

Humanism may be coming to an end as humanism transforms itself into something one must helplessly call posthumanism.

This view predates most currents of posthumanism which have developed over the late 20th century in somewhat diverse, but complementary, domains of thought and practice. For example, Hassan is a known scholar whose theoretical writings expressly address postmodernity in society. Beyond postmodernist studies, posthumanism has been developed and deployed by various cultural theorists, often in reaction to problematic inherent assumptions within humanistic and enlightenment thought.

Theorists who both complement and contrast Hassan include Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, cyberneticists such as Gregory Bateson, Warren McCullouch, Norbert Weiner, Bruno Latour, Cary Wolfe, Elaine Graham, N. Katherine Hayles, Donna Haraway Peter Sloterdijk, Stefan Lorenz Sorgner, Evan Thompson, Francisco Varela, Humberto Maturana and Douglas Kellner. Among the theorists are philosophers, such as Robert Pepperell, who have written about a "posthuman condition", which is often substituted for the term "posthumanism".

Posthumanism differs from classical humanism by relegating humanity back to one of many natural species, thereby rejecting any claims founded on anthropocentric dominance. According to this claim, humans have no inherent rights to destroy nature or set themselves above it in ethical considerations a priori. Human knowledge is also reduced to a less controlling position, previously seen as the defining aspect of the world. The limitations and fallibility of human intelligence are confessed, even though it does not imply abandoning the rational tradition of humanism.

Proponents of a posthuman discourse, suggest that innovative advancements and emerging technologies have transcended the traditional model of the human, as proposed by Descartes among others associated with philosophy of the Enlightenment period. In contrast to humanism, the discourse of posthumanism seeks to redefine the boundaries surrounding modern philosophical understanding of the human. Posthumanism represents an evolution of thought beyond that of the contemporary social boundaries and is predicated on the seeking of truth within a postmodern context context. In so doing, it rejects previous attempts to establish 'anthropological universals' that are imbued with anthropocentric assumptions.

The philosopher Michel Foucault placed posthumanism within a context that differentiated humanism from enlightenment thought. According to Foucault, the two existed in a state of tension: as humanism sought to establish norms while Enlightenment thought attempted to transcend all that is material, including the boundaries that are constructed by humanistic thought. Drawing on the Enlightenment’s challenges to the boundaries of humanism, posthumanism rejects the various assumptions of human dogmas (anthropological, political, scientific) and take the next step by attempting to change the nature of thought about what it means to be human. This requires not only decentering the human in multiple discourses (evolutionary, ecological, technological) but also examining those discourses to uncover inherent humanistic, anthropocentric, normative notions of humanness and the concept of the human.

Contemporary posthuman discourse

Posthumanistic discourse aims to up spaces to examine what it means to be human and critically question the concept of “the human” in light of current cultural and historical contexts In her book How We Became Posthuman, N. Katherine Hayles, writes about the struggle between different versions of the posthuman as it continually co-evolves alongside intelligent machines. Such coevolution, according to some strands of the posthuman discourse, allows one to extend their subjective understandings of real experiences beyond the boundaries of embodied existence. According to Hayles view of posthuman, often referred to as technological posthumanism, visual perception and digital representations thus paradoxically become ever more salient. Even as one seeks to extend knowledge by deconstructing perceived boundaries, it is these same boundaries that make knowledge acquisition possible. The use of technology in a contemporary society is thought to complicate this relationship.

Hayles discusses the translation of human bodies into information (as suggested by Hans Moravec) in order illuminate how the boundaries of our embodied reality have been compromised in the current age and how narrow definitions of humanness no longer apply. Because of this, according to Hayles, posthumanism is characterized by a loss of subjectivity based on bodily boundaries. This strand of posthumanism, including the changing notion of subjectivity and the disruption of ideas concerning what it means to be human, is often associated with Donna Haraway’s concept of the cyborg, . However, Haraway has distanced herself from posthumanistic discourse due to other theorists’ use of the term to promote utopian views of technological innovation to extend the human biological capacity, (even though these notions would more correctly fall into the realm of transhumanism ).

While posthumanism is a broad and complex ideology, it has relevant implications today and for the future. It attempts to redefine social structures without inherently humanly or even biological origins, but rather in terms of social and psychological systems where consciousness and communication could potentially exist as unique disembodied entities. Questions subsequently emerge with respect to the current use and the future of technology in shaping human existence emerge, as do new concerns with regards to language, symbolism, subjectivity, phenomenology, ethics and justice.

Criticisms

Posthumanism is sometimes used as a synonym for an ideology of technology known as "transhumanism" because it affirms the possibility and desirability of achieving a "posthuman future", albeit in purely evolutionary terms. However, posthumanists in the humanities and the arts are critical of transhumanism, in part, because they argue that it incorporates and extends many of the values of Enlightenment humanism and classical liberalism, namely scientism, according to performance philosopher Shannon Bell:

Altruism, mutualism, humanism are the soft and slimy virtues that underpin liberal capitalism. Humanism has always been integrated into discourses of exploitation: colonialism, imperialism, neoimperialism, democracy, and of course, American democratization. One of the serious flaws in transhumanism is the importation of liberal-human values to the biotechno enhancement of the human. Posthumanism has a much stronger critical edge attempting to develop through enactment new understandings of the self and others, essence, consciousness, intelligence, reason, agency, intimacy, life, embodiment, identity and the body.

While many modern leaders of thought are accepting of nature of ideologies described by posthumanism, some are more skeptical of the term. Donna Haraway, the author of Cyborg Manifesto, has outspokenly rejected the term, though acknowledges a philosophical alignment with posthumanim. Haraway opts instead for the term of companion species, referring to nonhuman entities with which humans coexist.