Cyberculture, cyborgs and science fiction : consciousness and the posthuman / William S. Haney II.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Haney, William S.

Series:

Consciousness, literature & the arts ; 2.

Consciousness, literature & the arts, 1573-2193 ; 02

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Biotechnology in literature.

Biotechnology--Social aspects.

Biotechnology.

Consciousness--Social aspects.

Consciousness.

Cyborgs in literature.

Mind and body.

Science fiction--Social aspects.

Science fiction.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (203 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; New York : Rodopi, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Addressing a key issue related to human nature, this book argues that the first-person experience of pure consciousness may soon be under threat from posthuman biotechnology. In exploiting the mind's capacity for instrumental behavior, posthumanists seek to extend human experience by physically projecting the mind outward through the continuity of thought and the material world, as through telepresence and other forms of prosthetic enhancements. Posthumanism envisions a biology/machine symbiosis that will promote this extension, arguably at the expense of the natural tendency of the mind to move toward pure consciousness. As each chapter of this book contends, by forcibly overextending and thus jeopardizing the neurophysiology of consciousness, the posthuman condition could in the long term undermine human nature, defined as the effortless capacity for transcending the mind's conceptual content. Presented here for the first time, the essential argument of this book is more than a warning; it gives a direction: far better to practice patience and develop pure consciousness and evolve into a higher human being than to fall prey to the Faustian temptations of biotechnological power. As argued throughout the book, each person must choose for him or herself between the technological extension of physical experience through mind, body and world on the one hand, and the natural powers of human consciousness on the other as a means to realize their ultimate vision.

Contents:

Preliminary Material

Preface

Chapter 1: Consciousness and the Posthuman

Chapter 2: The Latent Powers of Consciousness vs. Bionic Humans

Chapter 3: Derrida's Indian Literary Subtext

Chapter 4: Consciousness and the Posthuman in Short Fiction

Chapter 5: Frankenstein: The Monster's Constructedness and the Narrativity of Consciousness

Chapter 6: William Gibson's Neuromancer: Technological Ambiguity

Chapter 7: Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash: Humans are not Computers

Chapter 8: Haruki Murakami' s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World: Unicorns, Elephants and Immortality

Chapter 9: Cyborg Revelations: Marge Piercy's He, She and It

Chapter 10: Conclusion: The Survival of Human Nature

Works Cited

Index.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

94-012-0270-2

1-4237-9080-4

OCLC:

714567223

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789401202701 DOI