The Posthuman Condition: Consciousness Beyond the Brain

by Robert Pepperell

"Where humanists saw themselves as distinct beings in an antagonistic relationship with their surroundings, posthumans regard their own being as embodied in an extended technological world."

Synthetic creativity, organic computers, genetic modification, intelligent machines--such ideas are deeply challenging to many of our traditional assumptions about human uniqueness and superiority. But, ironically, it is our very capacity for technological invention that has secured us so dominant a position in the world which may lead ultimately to (as some have put it) 'The End of Man'. If we are really capable of creating entities that exceed our own skills and intellect then the consequences for humanity are almost inconceivable. Nevertheless, we must now face up to the possibility that attributes like intelligence and consciousness may be synthesised in non-human entities--perhaps within our lifetime. Would such entities have human-like emotions; would they have a sense of their own being?

The Posthuman Condition argues that such questions are difficult to tackle given the concepts of human existence that we have inherited from humanism, many of which can no longer be sustained. New theories about nature and the operation of the universe arising from sophisticated computer modelling are starting to demonstrate the profound interconnections between all things in reality where previously we had seen only separations. This has implications for traditional views of the human condition, consciousness, the way we look at art, and for some of the oldest problems in philosophy.

First published in the 1990s, this important text has been completely revised by the author with the addition of new sections and illustrations.

For further information see: www.post-human.net

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1994

Reviews

[ex0self · Rating 5 out of 5]

My graduate school thesis research began with this book and I loved it. Great great book.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

zajimavy a relevant k dnesni dobe podleme jeste vic nez v dobe kdy to psal

[Sefa YILMAZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Pepperell's The Posthuman Condition interests me because it refuses to treat the human being as a settled, self-contained category. The book brings questions about mind, technology, embodiment, and artistic practice into a conversation about how the boundaries between people and their environments are understood. Its challenge to a simple separation between consciousness and the physical world is particularly relevant to the way contemporary culture imagines artificial intelligence. Instead of asking only whether a machine can reproduce a human faculty, Pepperell encourages us to examine the assumptions behind the word 'human' itself. I find this a more demanding starting point than either technological enthusiasm or nostalgia for an imagined pre-digital identity. The problem is that questioning boundaries does not automatically explain which transformations are desirable. The language of posthuman possibility can suggest a shared future while overlooking uneven access to technology, labor hidden behind digital systems, and the ecological costs of technological expansion. I also want a clearer distinction between claims about consciousness, which demand careful philosophical argument, and claims about changing cultural experiences of the body. The two inform one another but are not identical. For my interests in game narratives and representations of artificial life, the most valuable part of the book is its insistence that technology changes our descriptions of agency as much as our capacities to act. I come away less persuaded by any total theory of 'the posthuman' than by the questions the book makes difficult to avoid: where does a subject begin, and what kind of world makes that subject possible?

[melancholinary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too bad that I read the Indonesian translated version of this book in which totally unreadable. The translator for this book should just stop their job and reevaluate their translating skill. However, I think Pepperell takes too much detour in terms of structuring his argument on this book. Moreover, his explanation of the term posthumanism seems too vague compare to Haraway's terminology 'cyborg.' A couple last chapter of this book is interesting, as well as the concept of entropy, chaos theory and creativity though it is pretty dated—mind you this was written in the mid-90s.

[Simon W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Provozierende Thesen, die das zunehmend verschmelzende Verhältnis zwischen Mensch und Technolgie einordnen und das Selbstbild, d.i. Selbstverständnis, des Menschen neu bewerten. Der Posthumanismus als Vorschlag einer Denkungsart, um den derzeitigen technologischen Herausforderungen begegnen zu können.

[Patrick Diego · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tem uns insights muito bons sobre o pós-humanismo, apesar do tom meio panfletário.

[Rory · Rating 3 out of 5]

awesome theory on consciousness. Very interesting read.