Lyotard and the Inhuman

by Stuart Sim

For Jean-Francois Lyotard, the cyborg is a symbol of fear, Mankind already inhabits a world which views machine implantation in humans as normal and necessary. It implies a future, Lyotard warns, which may dangerously negate the value of humanity itself.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 1997

Reviews

[Nima · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب با تمرکز بر اثر The Inhuman: Reflections on Time از لیوتار، به نگرانی او درباره‌ی ظهور ناانسان‌گرایی می‌پردازد. لیوتار بیم دارد که علم و تکنولوژی انسان را به موجودی فروبکاهند که صرفا بر پایه‌ی فرایندهای اطلاعاتی و محاسباتی تعریف می‌شود، انسانی که می‌تواند بدون بدن، بدون تجربه‌ی زیسته و بدون جهان عاطفی ادامه یابد. چنین وضعی نه‌تنها انسان را از تجربه‌های بدنی و حسی جدا می‌کند، بلکه هویت فردی را در برابر سازوکارهای تکنولوژیک بی‌ارزش می‌سازد. به تعبیر لیوتار، وقتی بدن، عاطفه و تفاوت‌های انسانی حذف شوند، چه چیزی از انسان باقی می‌ماند؟
نویسنده در ادامه با ارجاع به آرای دونا هاراوی و سیدی پلنت "فمینیست‌های سایبورگ" و ویلیام گیبسون "نویسنده سایرنتیک"، به وجوهی از استفاده‌ی انتقادی یا خلاقانه از ناانسان‌گرایی می‌پردازد، جایی که در آن، مرز میان ارگان و داده، و میان انسان و هوش مصنوعی دگرگون می‌شود.

در امتداد همین کتاب، خواندن این مقاله‌ی درخشان از لیوتار را پیشنهاد می‌کنم.
"آیا تفکر بدون بدن می‌تواند ادامه یابد؟"
https://t.me/SchizoGraphiichanel/81

[א · Rating 4 out of 5]

توضیح: چهارستاره متعلق است به نسخه انگلیسی متن، امتیاز ترجمه آن در حدود منفی ۸ ستاره است.
(چگونه یک متن ساده را به سبب عدم تسلط‌مان به زبان فلسفی بغرنج گردانیم)

[Andrés Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

is a good introductory book, to The postmodernism topics.

[Ivanko · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nemam ništa protiv zgodnih kiborga

[Nicole Miles · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting little read. I found it fairly balanced and expository. I did not expect to find so much content from feminist theorists here but it seems a natural inclusion.
The exploration of computers' rejection of differences is discussed, attitudes towards which necessarily change depending on one's perspective. On the one hand, I embrace humanity's heterogeneity and capacity for creativity and lateral thinking. On the other, the constant pointing out of differences has not necessarily been positive for anyone in society who identifies as "other" (as Sim mentions: "women, queers, POC").
It also discusses capitalism's necessary alignment with techno-scientific advancement and inhumanism at the cost of those it determines to be superfluous to its cause (that cause being development).
Before reading this book I only had a basic idea of humanism, post-humanism, inhumanism and anti-inhumanism. I feel this is a good point of reference to gain a clear, if basic, understanding of those terms.

A high three stars. It didn't necessarily tell me that much I didn't already know or hadn't already considered but that's because my partner is a proponent of transhumanism and we talk a lot about this stuff quite regularly already. (In fact, I'd just found this book lying around the house and decided to pick it up the other day on a whim.) However, it did make me think a lot about things and it's a really great introduction and/or jumping off point to the kinds of starter questions implied by our relationship to technology.

[Mauro Betschart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick glance on the topic of the inhumanity and human-machine interconnection and symbiosis. Nevertheless the concepts are only presented and laid out on the table and it is the readers job to understand and judge them.

[K]

short and interesting enough introduction, made me more intrigued to read Lyotard and Plant themselves though