Posthuman Possibilities
“Posthuman Possibilities” Cyborg Citizen.
The main themes of this article include
-Discussion of the political breeding ground conductive of human-cyborg reconciliation and proliferation
-The pervasive nature of machines in everyday lifestyle
-Future prospects for man, machine, life and everything.
It is taken for granted in this section of the larger novel Cyborg Citizens that Gray has already convinced us of our innate cyborg symbiosis. This chapter of the book represents Gray’s thoughts on how cyborgs interact with the organic aspect of the world, as well as the political and individual. Cyborgization is presented as another well-politicized issue, alongside race and politics (and it encodes its own race and political issues) and it’s main foe is a totalitarianist take on any existing political opinion. “On the Net,” write Gray, “race and gender distinctions dissolve, but access to the Net is clearly a class (and therefore a race and national) issue” (p.188).
Touching on cyborg political issues – and the cyborgization of the political process, Gray looks at specifics and anecdotes. With an understanding that nostalgia is longing for the unattainable, Gray indulges anyway. The article views the future as a definite point in time, and details how the future is (or will be) the lesser of two evils when given the option to progress with cyborg lives or return to a pre-industrial era state.
Quotes to consider:
“Cyborg technoscience renders mass society a thing of horror. Uniformity is technically possible as it has never been before, making totalitarianism a nightmare to be feared. The only alternative is to go in the other direction and allow for the blossoming of cyborg citizenship in its many forms. Yes, it will have its horrifying moments, and the reaction of those who fear change will be more horrifying still. But reaching toward greater democracy, stronger citizenship, and a proliferation of human and posthuman possibilities is our only choice besides a turn to the past that, since it would be in the context of postmodern technoscience, would make the Holocaust and the Gulag look like rehearsals.” (p.201)
“To fail to come to terms with our cyborgian situation as part of both organic (the “natural” and machinic (industrial civilization) realms would be fatal. Crashing either of these systems will end humanity, and yet the two systems often seem to be on a collusion course. Perhaps this is how the repressed is returning in cyborg – as imperfection, self-contradiction, and unresolveable paradox.” (p.194)
posted by Kathryn @ 8:03 AM
2 comments
links to this post
2 Comments:
Your summary is good. I think many of Gray's points are questionable, but you present the arguments concisely and wel.
Thankyou. I set it out like a government document: dot points and sub-headings. They're meant to make things easier to understand :P
In reflection to the presentation, I feel it went alright. I could have rabbited on more about the criticisms of Gray's political stance, but it would have been getting side-tracked from the focal points (although perhaps appropriate given how I feel Gray also diverts from the cause with anecdotes).
As to how my presentation fitted into the overall discussion. Well I interpreted the unit outline as my being less a "mini-lecturer" and more an introduction-giver discussion-prompter for the course. Unfortunately this assumed people had done and remembered the readings. A fair assumption, but there may have been more discussion if I had started with a recap of the article. *shrug*
So despite this, I think it managed admirably. Occasionally the stance on things might have been a mite obscure and need explaining twice (though I tried for it not to be), and somehow we managed to fill up the required time with tutorial discussion regardless.
At any rate, it’s done now. On to the essay! :P
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home