Last Flesh: Life in the Transhuman Era

by Christopher Dewdney

Never before has human life been able to change itself, to reach into its own genetic structure and rearrange its molecular basis -- now it can. We are about to enter the transitional period between the human and posthuman eras -- the transhuman age. In Last Flesh, poet, philosopher and media critic Christopher Dewdney takes a personal look at this transitional era -- its culture, media and technology. | The goal of transhumanism is to surpass our human limitations, and already this new era is being heralded by an unprecedented expansion of human capabilities. Genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and neuroscience are about to give humans the keys to their own destiny. Voice-recognition, as well as computer-assisted literature and art, will provide a new cultural richness. Nano-technology, robotics and physics will produce astounding new advances in engineering. Last Flesh explores the impact, both social and moral, of these innovations. | Sweeping broadly across our present-day media landscape -- from the Internet to body piercing, from televisions to prostheses, from plastic surgery to cryonics -- Last Flesh recasts the present in the shifting and eerie light of the deep future. A thoughtful and accessible interpretation of our changing species by one of our most original thinkers, Last Flesh is brilliant and provocative.

284 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1998

About the author

Christopher Dewdney has served as writer-in-residence at Trent, Western, and York universities. Featured in Ron Mann’s film Poetry in Motion with William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Michael Ondaatje, and Tom Waits, Dewdney has presented his groundbreaking poetics across North America and Europe.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acquired Mar 17, 2002
City Lights Book Shop, London, Ontario