Beyond Flesh and Machine: How 'The Art of Being Posthuman' Challenges Our Deepest Beliefs About Humanity's Future
Introduction
As we stand on the brink of the next century, questions about our existence and prosperity as a species loom large. Do we evolve beyond our current paradigms, which have fallen short of our aspirations, or do we maintain our existential inertia, adhering to business as usual? Amidst our fervent chase for progress, we find ourselves racing towards an undefined future, overwhelmed by the relentless barrage of information that demands our unwavering focus. Our societies and the very essence of our humanity seem to navigate through a maelstrom of complexity, entwined in an ever-thickening web of information, yet our fundamental nature appears unaltered.
In this whirlwind of constant change, our biological essence and the conceptual frameworks that underpin our social constructs seem to resist swift adaptation, marking a dangerous reluctance to keep pace with our times. It is within this challenging backdrop that Dr. Francesca Ferrando's new book "The Art of Being Posthuman" emerges as a breath of fresh air, and though I will not make the generic pretentious claim that it is “cutting through the intellectual malaise with a provocative call to self-reflection”, but it does feel new and at least bold which is something we much need in these changing times. The book is infused with a touch of spiritual vitality and I’d wager even a sprinkle of psychedelic flair at least in my mind.
More than just a piece of literature, Or a self-help, it serves as a guide for introspection, urging us to contemplate our role and purpose at the onset of the 21st century. Through its compelling existential discourse, it encourages a reevaluation of humanity's core and its path forward amidst the intricacies of modern life.
Trans & Post Humanism
I think is valid to explain the differences between posthumanism and its closest ally transhumanism Transhumanism and Posthumanism are two philosophical concepts that speculate on the future of humanity, but from different perspectives. Transhumanism focuses on the enhancement of human capabilities through technology and science, advocating for the use of these advancements to improve human physical and intellectual capacities. It's all about transcending our biological limitations (hence the name, clever ah?) through deliberate modifications. Posthumanism, on the other hand, goes a step further to question the very essence of being human in the wake of these technological advancements. It explores what comes after humanity's current state, considering the implications of merging with technology to the point where the distinction between human and machine blurs. While Transhumanism emphasizes improvement within the framework of human capabilities, Posthumanism contemplates a future where the definition of "human" may fundamentally change
.My relationship with Posthumanism was very much tangential I would say, mainly because I had always considered myself to be more of a Transhumanist than a Posthumanist, so much so at one point I thought more of one is just the “lighter” version of the other one and that might be true, but my only approach to posthumanism before was reading some pages of the book How We Became Posthuman by N. Katherine Hayles and a whole bunch of transhumanist literature, and youtube videos, and TED talks and discussion in Facebook Groups back in the 2010s which is where Ironically I came upon the work of Dr. Ferrando.
Despite never having personally encountered the author or delving deeply into her work, my interest was piqued through an engaging Facebook poll I saw a couple of months ago which led me to receive a copy of her book from the publishing company. This serendipitous discovery turned out to be an enlightening experience, unveiling one of the most captivating reads I've enjoyed in recent times –So thank you Facebook for this exchange –
The allure of the book wasn't solely its futuristic theme—a domain I passionately explore, especially beyond the mere anticipation of the coming technological advancements and their exponentially accelerating pace. What truly resonated with me was the author's profound exploration of how these evolving dynamics are poised to redefine our essence as a species.
This scrutiny extends beyond the surface, going into the ramifications these shifts entail for our individual and collective identities. It prompts a reevaluation of our philosophical bearings and how we engage with reality and our surroundings, advocating for a nuanced understanding and adaptability to the forthcoming changes.
This is for me the greatest value this book has to offer because throughout its meditations it doesn’t offer moralistic language on how we all should blindly follow an ideology or a mindset but more on how to approach the changing state of our world and aim towards the benefit and growth of us as a species beyond the current limitations embedded in how we view ourselves and how that perspective affects the way that we relate with ourselves with each other and with the world and the cosmos around us. Though I have to say the fact that all chapters ended with the same paragraph that you can read this book in any order as it unfolds, it got a bit tiresome after the third meditation honestly.
Exploration of the Three Axis of Posthumanism
Honestly, this book is a very interesting read, at least for me I have identified myself – in a philosophical manner– as a transhumanist advocating for the advancement and application of science and technology to go beyond our current biological limitations (heck I’ve written almost 7 articles about these sort of things already, just go to the search bar on the newsletter’s website and write “Transhumanism” and you’ll see them all ) So this book seemed like a philosophical next step in that same direction which for me is great but I was not expecting such questioning in the way that we approach the future of our species breaking down the three core axis of Posthuman thought as they are described in the book.
1st Axis Post-Humanism: The realization that the Human is Plural. This primarily addresses the view of humans as predominantly individual entities, rather than acknowledging our nature as social animals in need of community. It also involves leveraging the information we currently possess to move beyond arbitrary tribalism and notions of distinction and superiority between different groups. Regrettably, this perspective has not been prevalent throughout much of human history, with historically drawn lines still impacting us today
2nd Axis: Post-Anthropocentrism: The comprehension of the human in coexistial relationship. As a Transhumanist, I've always been firmly on Team Human, perceiving the rest of reality as existing primarily for our sake. I now realize that this perspective inadvertently stripped agency from other intelligences in the world, including those in the Animalia kingdom, Plantae, Fungi, and beyond. This was an interesting blind spot for me on how to view the world because yeah of course I see the complexities and relationships between us and our world our environment and every other living being in it. But even my environmental concerns for the future of the planet have always been from a perspective of “how can this affect us and our lives” more than anything else. Reflecting on this has led me to consider how our interactions and the development of new technologies and ideas can benefit not only us but also the diverse intelligences around us in a more holistic manner.
3rd Axis Post-Dualism: The awareness that existence does not unfold in dualisms. This axis for me is a fun one and one of the deepest with regards to its philosophical implications because oh my god, since the dawn of philosophy, people have been debating the duality of life of body and soul of mind and body and all of that. And, the more and more we learn about ourselves and the functioning of the machinery that makes us, us, we understand the deep complementary relationship between our brains our minds, and our bodies not separating them but acknowledging that we are multitudes within ourselves, within the parts of our brain to the organs we perceive reality to the microbiome that lives inside of us and this is such a nice point to read and reflect which also reminds me a bit of this meme about separating the physical and the internal worlds:
Personal Reflection & Random Notes
This section is to all the sidenotes that I think were noteworthy or interesting from my perspective that I found in the book, so if you don’t want to read a whole bunch of random knickknacks skip this part: One of the footnotes in a chapter referred to a paper proposing that the influence of close supernovae could have increased the rate of lightning, potentially affecting the number of forest fires. This change may have transformed the forests in Northern Africa into savannahs, impacting the evolution of bipedal hominids. This hypothesis significantly supports the book's claim of intra-action and the constant flux of factors that influence everything around us, which I find very interesting and beautiful.
I cannot leave this unnoticed but I just love the richness of language used in this book which I think could be attributed to the multiculturalism of the author. The subtle hints I noticed here and there as someone who speaks a couple of romance languages you can feel in between the lines almost, or when someone uses an adverb version of an adjective and is just a bit more creative with the use of language is great, so kudos to the Author for that and the editor who left them there. Also, this book is the first time I see someone using Poietic in a book that wasn’t from Humberto Maturana.
Though yeah it is not a perfect book and I’ve had some qualms with it (like any normal person I guess you never fully agree with everyone you encounter/read/listen/see. I found some things funny and noteworthy at one point the author proposes that focusing too much on the importance of written language is classist and Western-centric. Don’t get me wrong I do agree the world is coated with Eurocentrism and the dominance of some narratives, but yeah maybe this was a step too far for my perspective.
The Book's Insights and Contributions
Overall I would say that this was a good way to start this year even though I am just now publishing this review this book has accompanied me through the beginning of a very exciting year so I take with me the lessons learned from here on to the future and also I could say that personally I’m taking a step closer and closer towards posthumanism from my transhumanist ways I’d say but I require some more meditations and time to take the full leap I’d say.
Of course, I think I’ve left out a lot of what the book talks about and goes even deeper but I think it is up to you to go and see what resonates more with you, because at least for me the book left a deeper imprint into how I view things rather than giving me rapture-like feelings while reading it, it was a fun time that kinda validated a lot of what I already believed and though I mean I was pretty much on board with what the book was saying without me being aware of it. As I said previously jumping from Transhumanism to Posthumanism is a hop and a skip away from each other, so If anyone decides to read this book please let me know from where you came from philosophically speaking before and after this book.
Now, Do I recommend you get this book? If you read this newsletter and enjoy my way of writing/thinking? Absolutely! It’s a fun wild ride through the Author’s meditations a poietic journey across ideas and insights that fill you up with this deep sense of wonder and introspection that translated in me putting the book down and just looking forward to contemplating for a moment what was in front of me – which usually meant me in a train in through east Germany looking to a field or some trees– while thinking of the (p)art that we all play in this interactive game we all live in called reality.