Cyborgs, Agents, and Transhumanists: Crossing Traditional Borders of Body and Identity in the Context of New Technology

Leonardo ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 361-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Becker
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
New Technology ◽  
The Body ◽  
Human Existence ◽  
The Other ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The World ◽  
The One

In current discourses of technoscience, body, nature, and even life are often described as code, text, or information. On the one hand, classical dichotomies (body/mind, subject/object, man/machine) and their restrictions are dissolving; on the other hand, this discourse often reveals a hidden desire to ignore both the fragility and the sense-giving capacity of materiality. In this paper, the proper dynamic of materiality is explored by looking in particular at what it means to be in a permanent touch with the world with the body. Against this background, efforts at denying or transforming the body in the context of new technologies can be interpreted as the wish to control or avoid the unpredictable and unconscious dimensions of human existence.

scholarly journals PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY EXPERIENCE OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE POST-WAR GENERATION

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (18) ◽  
pp. 16-30
Author(s):  
B.V. Markov ◽  
◽  
A.M. Sergeev ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Russian Philosophy ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The World ◽  
Post War ◽  
The One

The Philosophical Dialogue is dedicated to the analysis of the historical development of Russian philosophy over the past half century. The authors investigated the attitude of ideas and people in the conditions of historical turning point in the late 20th and early 21st century. Philosophy in a borderline situation allows us to compare and evaluate the past and the present. On the one hand, archetypes, attitudes, moods and experiences, formed as a reception of the collective experience of the past era, have been preserved in the minds of thinkers of the post-war generation – in the consciousness, and may be in the neural networks of the brain. On the other hand, the new social reality – cognitive capitalism – radically changes the self-description of society. It is not to say that modernity satisfies people. Despite the talk about the production of cultural, social, human capital, they feel not happy, but lonely and defenseless in a rapidly changing world. Not only philosophical criticism, but also the wave of protests, which also engulfed the "welfare society", makes one wonder whether it is worth following the recipes of the modern Western economy. On the one hand, closure poses a threat to stagnation, the fate of the country of the outland outing. On the other hand, openness, and, moreover, the attempt to lead the construction of a networked society is nothing but self-sacrifice. Russia has already been the leader of the World International, aiming to defeat communism around the world. But there was another superpower that developed the potential of capitalism. Their struggle involved similarities, which consisted in the desire for technical conquest of the world. The authors attempted to reflect on the position of a country that would not give up the competition, but used new technologies to live better. To determine the criteria, it is useful to use the historical memory of the older generation to assess modernity. Conversely, get rid of repeating the mistakes of the past in designing a better future.

scholarly journals METAPHYSICITY OF EVIL

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Basic Principle ◽  
Human Existence ◽  
The Other ◽  
Value System ◽  
Inappropriate Use ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The World ◽  
The One

In this article, the author explores the metaphysical foundations of evil. Research shows that as a transcendental phenomenon, evil reveals itself in two “optics”. On the one hand, evil means certain ontological aspects, which are distortions of the mode of co-existence. On the other hand, evil is a deformation of the existential nature of man. Thus, evil is a condition for the deformation of the ontological foundations of being, penetrating the world through human. In other words, the metaphysical nature of evil appears as, firstly, “absence”, “void” (in being), and, secondly, “distortion”, “imperfection”. In this regard, evil appears as ontologically and chronologically secondary to good. It exists only on the basis of good as its distortion, defect, simulacrum. The emptiness, unreality of evil opens the sphere of its existence, that is, an illusion. This explains the fact that evil receives its “reality”, materiality and form only with the help of a person who is free in his choice and able to distort the nature of good and realize illusion. Good is knowledge, it can transform a person, it is a living spiritual knowledge that opens itself to a knowing person in the process of mastering the surrounding reality, it fills him / her with content and uniqueness. In this perspective, good is a universal value system, the basis of which is love, truth, faith, labor, spiritual perfection, etc. In contrast, evil realizes itself in the denial of higher values, distortion or inappropriate use of the Truth of human existence. The study shows that the nature of evil is selfish, atomic and separating. Evil is all that contradicts the interests of the whole, that is, love, good, truth, freedom. It is all that individualizes, fragmentes, distorts, destroys the Truth of the whole. Thus, the basic principle of evil is “It’s every man for himself, everyone is his own god”. Therefore, as noted by religious philosophers, evil in human is associated primarily with the loss of his / her integrity. A person who has embarked on the path of violence and self-destruction is evil. This person is mistaken and unhappy, because he has not formed as a person. Goodness in human is internal integrity, unity, submission of his / her mind and bodily life to a higher spiritual principles.

Plotinus and Posidonius

1930 ◽  
Vol 24 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 198-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Witt
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
History Of Thought ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Theory Of Ideas ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The One ◽  
Platonic Theory

Probably no philosopher of antiquity has occasioned more daring speculations and the expression of graver doubts than Posidonius. On the one hand it has been argued that he was purely a man of science and hardly a Stoic philosopher at all. On the other hand he has been called the first and greatest Stoic mystic who under Oriental influence spurned the body as vile and earthly. Reinhardt has of late years resolutely maintained that the importance of Posidonius in the history of thought lies in his having originated a completely new Vitalism, and that his conception of the world is one in which ‘Subjekt und Objekt, Geist und Wissen, Mensch und Gott, νος und ζω durch eine im Bewusstsein neu erwachte Kraft sich einen und durchdringen: durch die “Sympathie.”’ Among other German scholars Geffcken holds that Plotinus borrowed much from Posidonius, and Jaeger roundly declares that if Posidonius had but found a place for the Platonic Ideas, there would have been nothing left for Plotinus to find. Schmekel and Bréhier have both stated that modifying the Platonic Theory of Ideas Posidonius established an identification between the Ideas and the Spermatic Logoi of Stoicism.

scholarly journals MNEMOTECHNIC OF PAIN: BETWEEN SUFFERING AND ENJOYMENT

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
Social Memory ◽  
The Body ◽  
Human Existence ◽  
The Other ◽  
Modern Culture ◽  
The World ◽  
The One ◽  
Relations Of Power ◽  
The Ideal

The article analyzed the problem of mnemotechnic of pain in the context of the historical transformation of thinking from archaic bodily practices of graphism of pain to the modern culture of anesthesia. The conceptual knot, which forms pain, suffering, memory, procedures of designation and enjoyment, is defined. Subject is defined to be central that goes beyond the opposition/dialectic of myth and reason. This allows us to turn to the premythic and to analyze the graphism of pain as the basis of human existence in the context of the formation of individual and collective memory. In the meantime, the myth is interpreted as an attempt to portray the labeled physical bodies of the world, given the distinction between them. The formation of relations of power is associated with the establishment of a correlation between sign and pain, which makes it possible to understand of pain as the basis of social memory. On the other hand, the historical-philosophical subject is distinguished, according to which the bodily topical of the perceptions and the metabodily topic of concepts are distinguished. The metaphysical shift laid down by the ancient philosophers transforms mnemotechnic into practice, which constantly takes into account the distinction between the sensual (physical) and the supersensual (spiritual), the ideal and the real, the true and the false, the one and the plural, being and non-existence. Mnemotechnic, which constitutes the metaphysical world, excludes the body as a matter of memory, leaving the pain beyond the added significance. Probably, it is possible to link the excesses of Sade’s search for enjoyment and cases of dramatic erosion of man to naked bodility, which captures the outbreaks of violence and torture in the century. In the end, it transforms modern culture into a culture of anesthesia, a culture of memory as an anesthetic, directed against the repetition of pain. Nevertheless, at the same time, it causes new pleasures to seek pain.

scholarly journals Two Conceptions of Second Nature

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg W. Bertram
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Open Future ◽  
Second Nature ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The World ◽  
Cognitive Activities ◽  
The Open Future ◽  
The One ◽  
First Nature

AbstractThe concept of second nature promises to provide an explanation of how nature and reason can be reconciled. But the concept is laden with ambiguity. On the one hand, second nature is understood as that which binds together all cognitive activities. On the other hand, second nature is conceived of as a kind of nature that can be changed by cognitive activities. The paper tries to investigate this ambiguity by distinguishing a Kantian conception of second nature from a Hegelian conception. It argues that the idea of a transformation from a being of first nature into a being of second nature that stands at the heart of the Kantian conception is mistaken. The Hegelian conception demonstrates that the transformation in question takes place within second nature itself. Thus, the Hegelian conception allows us to understand the way in which second nature is not structurally isomorphic with first nature: It is a process of ongoing selftransformation that is not primarily determined by how the world is, but rather by commitments out of which human beings are bound to the open future.

scholarly journals Towards a Kenotic Identity Politics: Migration, Transformation and the Eucharist

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 380
Author(s):  
Matthew John Paul Tan
Keyword(s):  
Identity Politics ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Eucharistic Theology ◽  
Critical Tradition ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Massive Influx ◽  
Identity Based ◽  
The One

This paper will focus on one element of the pushback against the massive influx of immigrants taken in for humanitarian purposes, namely, an identity-based chauvinism which uses identity as the point of resistance to the perceived dilution of that identity, brought about by the transformation of culture induced by the incorporation of a foreign other. The solution to this perceived dilution is a simultaneous defence of that culture and a demand for a conformity to it. While those in the critical tradition have encouraged a counter-position of revolutionary transformation by the other through ethics, dialogue, or the multitude, such a transformation is arguably impeded by what is ultimately a repetition of the metaphysics of conformity. Drawing on the personalism of Emmanuel Mounier and the Eucharistic theology of Creston Davis and Aaron Riches, this paper submits an alternative identity politics position that completes the revolutionary impulse. Identity here is not the flashpoint of a self-serving conflict, but the launch-point of politics of self-emptying, whose hallmarks include, on the one hand, a never-ending reception of transformation by the other, and on the other hand, an anchoring in the Body of Christ that is at once ever-changing and never-changing.

A Liberating Experience. On Becoming a Work of Art

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 411-430
Author(s):  
Maja Tabea Jerrentrup
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Work Of Art ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Film Clips ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The One ◽  
Body Painting ◽  
Dimensional Surface

Abstract The art of bodypainting that is fairly unknown to a wider public turns the body into a canvas - it is a frequently used phrase in the field of bodypainting that illustrates the challenge it faces: it uses a three-dimensional surface and has to cope with its irregularities, but also with the model’s abilities and characteristics. This paper looks at individuals who are turned into art by bodypainting. Although body painting can be very challenging for them - they have to expose their bodies and to stand still for a long time while getting transformed - models report that they enjoy both the process and the result, even if they are not confident about their own bodies. Among the reasons there are physical aspects like the sensual enjoyment, but also the feeling of being part of something artistic. This is enhanced and preserved through double staging - becoming a threedimentional work of art and then being staged for photography or film clips. This process gives the model the chance to experience their own body in a detached way. On the one hand, bodypainting closely relates to the body and on the other hand, it can help to over-come the body.

scholarly journals TECHNOLOGIES IN CREATIVE ECONOMY AND CREATIVE SOCIETY

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 855-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas KAČERAUSKAS
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Creative Industries ◽  
The Other ◽  
Creative Economy ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Political Media ◽  
The One ◽  
Media And Communication

The article deals with issues of technologies in the environment of creative economy and creative society, mostly focusing on the following topics: 1) invasion of technologies, which is accompanied by technical illiteracy or simplification of intellection presupposed by a certain technique (e.g. computers); 2) new technologies emerge in the environment dominated by consumption in order to boost consumption; 3) political, media and communication technologies are intertwined to the extent that allows us to speak about the technologized society; 4) technologies are inseparable from creative activities: on the one hand, development of technologies needs creativity, on the other hand, every branch of creative industries needs certain technologies; 5) technologic development is conditioned by their syncretism, i.e. their ability to serve the art (technē) of life and creative intentions; 6) in the creative society, happiness does not depend on constantly upgraded (i.e. consumed) technologies but is rather possible in spite of them; 7) unlimitedness is the greatest limitation of global technologies: unconnected with any existential region, they billow in the wind of ever newer technologies.

scholarly journals FOREST IN THE BASHKIRS' VIEW OF THE WORLD

2022 ◽  
pp. 33-40
Author(s):  
Ю. А. Абсалямова
Keyword(s):  
World View ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
The Other ◽  
Aesthetic Perception ◽  
Food Protection ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The World ◽  
Other World ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship

В статье анализируются особенности восприятия лесного пространства башкирами. На основе языковых, фольклорных материалов сделана попытка раскрыть различные аспекты взаимоотношений лес - человек, образ леса в картине мира башкир. Как и в большинстве традиционных культур, в целом мифологический образ леса носит отрицательный характер. В фольклоре он часто описывается как тёмный, мрачный, неизвестный, таящий опасности, противопоставляясь обжитому и освоенному пространству селений. Лесной пандемониум также представлен в основном отрицательными персонажами. В целом образ леса в традиционной картине мира башкир предстаёт довольно неоднозначным. С одной стороны - это категория, связанная с потусторонним миром, неизведанная, «чужая» территория. С другой - лес издавна являлся источником различных благ - в виде строительного материала, пушнины, различных продуктов питания, укрывал от врагов. The article analyzes the features of Bashkirs' perception of the forest space. On the basis of the materials of the epos, folklore, folk ideas, an attempt was made to reveal the various aspects of the relationship between forest and man, the image of the forest in Bashkirs' world view. As in most traditional cultures, the mythological image of the forest as a whole is negative. In folklore, it is often described as dark, gloomy, unknown, fraught with danger, being contrasted with the inhabited and developed space of the villages. The forest pandemonium is also represented mainly by negative characters. On the other hand, in the domestic perception forest is valued for the benefits derived from it: shelter, food, protection from enemies. In addition, Bashkirs, distinguished by a developed aesthetic perception and contemplative thinking, appreciated its beauty, which is also reflected in folklore. In general, the image of forest in the Bashkirs' traditional view of the world appears rather ambiguous. On the one hand, it is the category associated with the other world, unknown, «foreign» territory. On the other hand, the forest has long been a source of various benefits - in the form of construction materials, furs, various food products, and it sheltered them from enemies.

scholarly journals Happy Existentialist Metaphors: Merleau-Ponty’s Flesh of the World and the Chandos Complex

Humanities ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Annabelle Dufourcq
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Essential Dimension ◽  
Magic Realism ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The World ◽  
The One

This article investigates the meaning of Merleau-Ponty’s concept of the flesh of the world. This concept brings a cosmological tone to existentialist phenomenology and challenges the grim and gnostic approach that prevails in Heidegger’s and Sartre’s works in particular. Is horror the key mood in ontology as argued by Malabou? This article contends that bright metaphors and magic realism are at least as fundamental, but under one condition: ontology must come to terms with what the author has coined as the “Chandos complex”, namely a form of ambivalence and oscillation between Gnosticism and holism that makes both positions fake and hollow. Dreaming of being one with the world and fantasizing an estrangement from nature work hand in hand and are equally staged. Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy occasionally falls prey to the Chandos complex, which makes his concept of the flesh of the world vulnerable to criticism. This article examines the claim put forward by Renaud Barbaras that “the flesh of the world” is a failed metaphor. It argues that this blissful metaphor is ontologically fundamental as soon as its intrinsic paradoxes are recognized and accepted: the Chandos complex then becomes the key to an ontology that recognizes the imaginary as an essential dimension of being. At stake is an essential link between ontology on the one hand and, on the other hand, metaphors as well as myth-building and narrative-building processes.

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