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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
This book offers a comprehensive reflection on the existential condition of the 21st century. A visionary introduction to existential posthumanism, it takes the form of eight meditations.
This posthuman journey of self-inquiry engages with a wide range of knowledge and wisdom: from the Paleolithic times to the futures of radical life extension, from multi-species evolutions to the rights of Nature, the Anthropocene and the rise of Artificial Intelligence.
The book declutters the habit of being human. Letting go of the need for anthropocentric mastery and species-specific ambitions, the reader emerges regenerated. The manifold paths of posthuman self-realization reveal that we are all co-creators in the existential unfolding: our lives are our ultimate works of art.
The Art of Being Posthuman is a self-help guide to navigate our brave new world.
You can listen to Dr. Ferrando talk about the book’s key themes in these videos: 1. Introduction and 2. Conclusion
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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CONTENTS
Cover
Table of Contents
Dedication
Title Page
Copyright
Premise
Introduction: Being Posthuman in the 21st Century
How to be wise in the 21st century?
What does “posthuman” mean?
What is the outline of the meditations?
Methodology
The book’s architecture
Notes
Meditation 1: Posthuman Self-Enquiry
#Existential Posthumanism
#Inter-being
#Existentialism?
#21st Century
#Dream
#Change
#Redemption
#Posthuman Awareness
Notes
Meditation 2: Human Decluttering
#Decluttering
#Human(-centric)?
#Beyond Anthropocentrism
#Scientifically, Human
#Primates, Chimps and Bonobos
#Archaic Humans?
#Almost Human
#The Birth of Anthropocentrism
#Prehistory?
#Regeneration
#Human Animal
#Microcosm/Macrocosm
#Beyond Human-centrism
#With or Without Humans?
Notes
Meditation 3: Biotic Co-emergences
#Embodiments
#Double Helix
#Bio-me
#Holobionts
#Vir/us
#Viral Awareness
#Species Agency
#Radical Life Extension
#Dictator’s Paradox
#Species Healing
Notes
Meditation 4: Ecological Presence
#Earth
#Nature, Again?
#Philosophical Greenwashing
#Rights of Nature
#Anthropogenic Hermit
#Climate Change
#Ecosophy
#Indoor Society
#Wood Wide Web
#Eco-logy/Eco-nomy
#Re-engineering Nature?
#Posthuman Polite Convention
Notes
Meditation 5: Cosmic Constellations
#Made of Stardust
#Cosmic Address
#Chaos and Cosmos
#Universal Recycles
#Cosmopolitics
#Posthuman Gravity
#Space Migration
#Golden Paradox
Notes
Meditation 6: Technological Enhancement
#Digital Existentialism
#Techno-Enchantment
#Poiesis
#AI Takeover
#High-Tech Prophecy
#Bio-Hacking
#Big Data
#Microtargeting
#Data Awareness
#Algorithmic Predestination
#Enlightened Robots
#Golden Cage
#Planetary Enhancement
#Simulation Hypothesis
Notes
Meditation 7: Socio-Cultural Agency
#Society
#Human Rights?
#Social Pandemics
#Bubbles
#Social Coding
#Id-Entity
#Knowledge-Production
#War Culture
#No War
#Schooling or Unschooling?
#Posthuman Education
#Posthumanist Curricula
#Inanna/ Enheduanna
#Posthuman Parenthood
#Pink Trap
#Posthuman Agency
Notes
Meditation 8: Ontological Awareness
#(P)Art
#Posthuman Archetypes
#Consciousness Hacking
#Mind
#Subjects
#Non-Being
#Dream
#Spirituality
#Self-Realization
Notes
Conclusions: Posthuman Mantra
Notes
References
Acknowledgments
End User License Agreement
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Dedication
Title Page
Copyright
Premise
Introduction Being Posthuman in the 21st Century
Begin Reading
Conclusions
References
Acknowledgments
End User License Agreement
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To AllTo Sofia: Wisdom
The Art of Being Posthuman
Who Are We in the 21st Century?
Francesca Ferrando
polity
Copyright © Francesca Ferrando 2024
The right of Francesca Ferrando to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in 2024 by Polity Press
Polity Press65 Bridge StreetCambridge CB2 1UR, UK
Polity Press111 River StreetHoboken, NJ 07030, USA
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-4897-2
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023932772
The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content is or will remain appropriate.
Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.
For further information on Polity, visit our website:politybooks.com
Premise
Writing this book during the Covid-19 pandemic, with many social, biological and ecological issues vigorously coming to the surface, was a challenge and a gift. This historical moment made many recognize the urgency for academic philosophy to become social wisdom. Once we realized that people around us were dying, and that we could die as well, the fragility of humanity, as well as the urgency for authenticity and meaning, became self-evident. We had to ask: is posthumanism just another academic trend? If that was the case, many would have lost their interest in this field: facing the sense of finitude, we were searching for something deeper than scholastic novelty. We delved into this, as individuals and a community, looking deep into ourselves: was posthumanism something that could help us navigate this moment? We could only be honest to ourselves, because there was no one to give account to. This was not an exam, it entailed no promotion, it was not about the ego: this was our life.
During social and/or global distancing (when there was the chance of practicing it), we were surrounded by ourselves. Each action, thought and word resonated much wider, because space had suddenly shrunk, but not time; we had unlimited time in limited space – we became time millionaires. As in a cave, words resonate. As in a reverse myth of the Platonic cave, someone who was previously lost in constant activities, social interactions and projects, now had to enter the cave, and stay. A challenging separation from loved ones. A precious possibility to hear ourselves. We did it, and we could only be radically honest. In these meditations, the question arose: what about posthumanism? Some of us accessed posthumanism as an intellectual approach; they struggled with finding meaning, now that much was lost. Some of us realized that posthumanism is a way of existing. In this sense, posthumanism allowed us to approach this historical moment as a species, helped us navigate it on a personal level, and gave us the strength and vision to be agents of change in the realization of post-pandemic worlds. This book witnesses the transformation of an academic philosophy into social wisdom for the 21st century.
IntroductionBeing Posthuman in the 21st Century
This book approaches posthumanism as a philosophy of life and, more clearly, a practice of existence to manifest deep, comprehensive and personalized paths of self-exploration, as individuals and societies, species and beyond. The message is crystal clear: we can be posthuman now in the ways we exist. There is a real need for posthumanist existential enlightenment, as we envision ourselves in the era of the Anthropocene, global pandemics and the rise of artificial intelligence. This book offers a 360 degree review of who we are in the 21st century – not just as individuals, but as societies, a species, a planet and beyond. In critical and generative terms, the book engages with scientific knowledges, ancient paths of wisdom, and emerging and speculative bio-technologies in ways that are aware of the deep anthropocentric legacies of past visions and formulations. Words create worlds; narratives are not neutral. A (re)generative decluttering of the notion of the human is thus pursued from any self-entitlements that obscure the understanding of our extensive self. Once we look into the nature of being, we (as existing beings) realize that we are always in dynamics of existential revealing, poietically co-manifesting our worlds: in these extensive senses, we are (p)art1 of everything. Posthumanism embraces an integral comprehension of the human in the 21st century. This is a unique opportunity for generative exchanges that are forging not only public opinion, but also the lives of the people involved, the evolution of humanity, the future of planet Earth and beyond. The issues at stake are very high. Posthumanism emerges as an existential awareness unfolding in this historical era and spatio-temporal arena. Now is the time to manifest the art of being posthuman: know who You are, choose how to live.
The need for open spaces of manifestation is self-evident in this historical context. There is growing interest towards post-humanism, not only as a theoretical frame to understand our times, but as a practical one to act inspirationally in our lives. From the Covid-19 pandemic to the current ecological crises, from the economy of Big Data and the lack of privacy to the socio-political consequences resulting out of scientific discoveries and bio-technological possibilities (from CRISPR gene editing to space mining): radical changes are occurring in our species and planet. People are wondering how to cope with this “new” world. The understanding of ourselves as humanity is mutating. This inner and outer chaos can be challenging and unsettling: it is also the bearer of new ways of being in the world. Perceiving ourselves as part of the labyrinth, instead of lost in it, will unravel unexpected self-discoveries. Along with an ethical praxis, posthumanism, as a path of self-enquiry, is revealed as an existential journey. The goal of the book is to allow for multiple and diverse processes of self-knowledge to manifest at all levels: the individual, the social, the species, the planetary and beyond. Connected, emergent and unique: ultimate ripples, in the fluid and sensitive texture of spacetime.
How to be wise in the 21st century?
Visionaries are the ones who can see what needs to be addressed in their era. Given the changing nature of reality and the matrix of possible perspectives, their answers may differ from time to time. For instance, philosophical traditions pre-dating the common era still offer rare gems of wisdom to contemporary readers; and, still, the limits of socio-cultural assumptions sustaining many of them cannot be simply dismissed. Everything is constantly changing; even if the keys to existential realization may be ultimately timeless, the ways to unfold them, engage with them and depict them must be updated. This is why seers have been necessarily sharing throughout time; every age offers unique insights, focuses and visions in need of contemporary voices to articulate them. Such voices serve as a reality check for humanity, a most essential function: to be aware of where we are at, as individuals, as a society and as a species. In this sense, wisdom is both temporal and atemporal: it is nourished by spatio-temporal experiences, and, in its ultimate realization, it transcends them all. This is also why we are the only ones who can answer the question of what it means to be wise in the 21st century: no one before us, and no one after us, will experience precisely these planetary conditions. It is part of our existential performance to awaken to these cosmic embodiments. The nature of change also serves as a wake-up call: we cannot simply rely on the work of others; we must embrace response-ability.2
Who am I? This is a question that every human being asks themselves at one point or another, usually starting very young: Who am I? What is this? Why am I here? In this sense, everyone is a philosopher – that is, someone who is able to ask existential questions without the need for authoritarian answers. Wisdom has a lot to do with the ancient Greek motto “Know thyself” (ΓΝΩΘΙ ΣΑΥΤΟΝ), inscribed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and revered to its ultimate consequences in the life philosophy of Socrates (c.470–399 BCE), who taught that “the unexamined life is not worth living” (38a).3 Ancient texts, from the Tao Te Ching4 to the Upanishads,5 from the Torah6 to the (Biblical and Gnostic) Gospels7 and the Quran,8 among many others9 – emphasize, consistently and repeatedly, that the meaning of life is understanding who we are. In our modern world, this spiritual search is often replaced with other searches, such as economic success and techno-scientific advancements. These are all significant trajectories; yet, if they are approached as the ultimate meaning to life, they turn into obstacles in fully embracing the existential openness at the core of dimensional manifesting: who are we?
This book approaches philosophy in line with its etymology. In classical Greek, philos (φίλος) means “love”; sofia (σοφία) means “wisdom.” “Philosophy” can be translated as the love of wisdom and, also, the wisdom of love. From a general undertaking of wisdom as an individual achievement,10 we will move to the possibility of wisdom as a social endeavor, reverberating across times and spaces to the whole existential realm, and beyond. From this comprehensive standpoint, the notion of “love” will unfold in principles of multi-species coexistence, existential empathy and, more extensively, ontological poiesis. This realization cannot be simply learnt; it must be experienced. For philosophies to stand the test of time, they must offer something valuable to those engaging with them, to the societies embracing them, to the species and planet(s) manifesting them. In other words, philosophies must stand as paths of wisdom, granting insights into the existential condition per se, in the unique ways it materializes in each historical era. Posthumanism, as a philosophy of the 21st century, approaches humans (in all of their diversities), non-human animals, technology and ecology relationally. Posthumanism, as a philosophy of life, deeply enriches our existential awareness and intra-acting in the world, investigating the human condition not as an autonomous biological event to be addressed in isolation but as a cosmic co-emergence, from a location that is deeply aware of our geological time: the Anthropocene. This take is full of potential.
In this book, we will contend that posthumanism offers ways to be wise in the 21st century: this is no easy task. Living a responsible life while being (p)art of a society that is still entrenched in (and enchanted by) anthropocentrism is challenging. Yet it is possible, and it is already happening: the posthuman community is expanding into a glocal movement based on posthuman realizations. Moving from the theoretical arena to real-world applications, posthumanism addresses the core existential question “Who am I?” in conjunction with many other related ones, such as “What am I?” and “Where and when are We?” In a brave move, it de-universalizes the human gaze, making it (species-)specific, bringing awareness to historical habits and onto-epistemological premises based on anthropocentric supremacy. Aware of individual diversity, material entanglements, species and cross-species commonalities, posthumanism relies on both monism and pluralism: we are one and many, diversity and unity, beyond any eschatological dualities. As individuals, we are constantly changing. Biologically speaking, we are organisms formed by a plurality of entities. We are part of a species which is evolving11 – culturally and biologically, among other dimensions. From a planetary perspective, our survival is sustained by unbounded ecological, technological and cosmological dynamics.12 This is when we realize that wisdom cannot be conceived merely as an individual achievement; it is also a social gain: we are, always, many.
What does “posthuman” mean?
Academically speaking, the notion of the “posthuman” is an umbrella term to refer to many movements and schools of thoughts, such as posthumanism(s),13 transhumanism(s),14 antihumanism(s),15 new materialism and object-oriented ontology, among others. Although posthumanism is the departing and returning point of this book, we will constantly engage with multiple perspectives to enrich our reflection. For instance, ontological insights developed within the field of object-oriented ontology will support our ecological understanding of phenomena of vast temporal and spatial dimensions, such as global warming. Transhumanism will enhance our understanding of biology by challenging the current understanding of the human. According to transhumanism, we are not posthuman yet: this passage is necessarily actualized at an evolutionary level, through the potentials inscribed in technological and scientific developments. Alternatively, posthumanism invokes the posthuman as an existential paradigm shift, which is already happening; in this sense, we can be posthuman right now. This book further develops the posthuman in its existential implications and applications, standing on the premises of philosophical posthumanism,16 which can be summarized in three axes of analysis (to be taken jointly, not hierarchically):
Post-humanism:17 the realization that the human is pluralWe, humans, are many. Still, in the history of humanity, not every human being has been considered human, or as human as others. Philosophical posthumanism reveals how this universalization and homogenization of the notion of the human has benefited only some humans, while sustaining the oppression of others. Such power dynamics have defined the interactions between human groups and shall be taken into consideration when envisioning, and enacting, social modes of posthuman existing.
Post-anthropocentrism: the comprehension of the human in coexistential relations to other species, not as superior to themPhilosophical posthumanism acknowledges the fact that the “human” – anthropos (ἄνθρωπος) in classical Greek – has been historically asserted through a hierarchical scale based on a human exceptionalist worldview. In this framing, the human (positioned, as previously mentioned, in a “human” hierarchy) was placed at the top. At the bottom was the “non-human,” categorized into hierarchies based on their similarities to the universalized human. Most anthropocentric worldviews do not recognize the existential dignity of other-than-human forms of existence intrinsically; instead, they reduce them to their utilitarian worth as commodities to (some) humans – in potentiality and actuality. Philosophical posthumanism voices the great fallacy of these approaches; their harmful effects to the well-being of both human and other-than-human entities is most evident in the current era of anthropocenic climate change.
Post-dualism: the awareness that existence does not unfold in dualistic18 modesDichotomous oversimplifications, based on the absolute separation of good and evil, plus and minus, foe and enemy, among many other hierarchical terms (such as black/white, female/male, etc.), have historically sustained and legitimized obstructive and destructive habits – from warfare to planetary injustice. They are serious obfuscations on our ultimate path of self-discovery. To know who we are we must achieve post-dualistic awareness, or the risk of dichotomizing will persist, in different modes. Such an awareness can start from the self, to permeate the entire dimensional realm, and vice versa: the macro and the micro are co-reflective, with no ultimate discrimination.
To be posthuman agents of change, we must be fully aware of the multi-layered sources of existential habits in their related socio-political, bio-ecological and technological premises, and also in their foundational dynamics of repetitions and reiterations. Posthumanism dares to challenge ontological mystifications, social distortions, scientific reductionisms and related disenchantments of the world, which have been constructed, and repeatedly reiterated, in the historical and bio-cultural processes of humanizing. These partial and biased approaches have (in)formed human collective consciousness, creating impediments towards full existential awareness. Intellectual curiosity, non-judgmental mindfulness, radical integrity and visionary energy are some of the flows of this book. In this extensive journey into the self, we will realize that we cannot understand who we are in separation: we are (p)art of everything.
What is the outline of the meditations?
The art of posthuman existence is to know who we are, and to be able to manifest in post-humanistic, post-anthropocentric and post-dualistic ways of being, knowing that what we do affects the whole dimensional realm. The path of self-enquiry and self-discovery is the thread of this book. In each chapter, the core existential question “Who am I?” is embraced from different perspectives and multiple layers: from the personal to the biological, the ecological, the cosmological, the technological, the socio-cultural and the ontological, among others. All of them will unravel, from different angles, common realizations, such as the relationality of being (and the urgent need for letting go of anthropocentrism), unity in diversity, and poiesis, as the ultimate existential creativity. There follows a brief presentation of each meditation. There are eight in total; when shifted, this number (8) represents the infinite (∞).
First Meditation: Posthuman Self-Enquiry
This chapter explores the pivotal existential question “Who am I?,” not in isolation but relationally, together with other foundational questions, such as “What am I?”, “Who are You?' and “Where and when are We?” Addressing the self relationally, we will delve into key notions, such as inter-being, coexistence, intention and redemption. Only by equanimous discernment and integral honesty can we realize who we intend to be. The ways we live, think and act constitute (p)art of the shifting material networks of our agency, which is comprehensive, multi-layered, plural and all-encompassing: the center is everywhere.
Second Meditation: Human Evolutions
The goal of this chapter is to declutter the notion of the human. We will start from primatology and reflect on our genetic relatives (bonobos and chimps), showing that scientific narratives are products of their specific eras, with their intrinsic biases and limits. Through paleo-anthropology, we will address the origins and developments of so-called archaic humans, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, emphasizing that there is no absolute separation between “us” and “them”: the interbreeding between these related species demonstrates that evolution is neither a linear nor a branched progression. We will then explore the rich periods of the Paleolithic and the Neolithic times, which, although counting for most of our time on Earth as humans, are still mystified as “prehistory” and usually relegated to the background of human historiography. In order to know who we are, we need to declutter the understanding of our shared humanity from any human-centric assumptions, socio-cultural preconceptions and ideological worldviews. Who we are is who we were and who we are going to be: our pasts and futures are already in our presents. A deep understanding of our evolutionary history in becoming human can turn into a path of wisdom, ultimately revealing existential posthuman awareness.
Third Meditation: Biotic Co-emergences
In this chapter, we will explore, existentially, questions such as “Who are we, as a species?” and “What are we, as organisms?”, among others. We will delve into the biological implications of our human embodiments and biotic entanglements: from our DNA – dynamically approached as information, self-knowledge and wisdom – to species agency; from the human biome – redefined as “bio-me” for its essential, and existential, impact on who we are – to the generative and destructive power of viral infections. Presenting the human as a holobiont will allow for meta-understandings of the self. Such a move de-solidifies the myth of individual autonomy as the essence of the human: autonomy, in fact, can only manifest in community. In this chapter, the essentiality of both unity and diversity will be found at the core of biotic revealing; developing our fil rouge of knowledge, we will encounter biology as a site of corporeal wisdom.
Fourth Meditation: Ecological Presence
We are the Earth, we are (p)art of a planet: this, we cannot forget, or our ignorance will endanger the quality of our existential experience as individuals, and our own survival as a species. In this chapter we will delve into ecology, the Anthropocene, laws and economy, addressing topics that are pivotal to the contemporary ecological debate, such as multi-species coexistence, coevolution, eco-anxiety, indigenous wisdom and the rights of Nature. In exploring these grounding areas, we will point out the misleading conception that we are just living on this planet, whereas, in fact, we are (p)art of the planet. On our path towards self-knowledge, this realization cannot be merely intellectual: philosophical greenwashing (a concept explored in this chapter) will not be of help. Instead, such an awakening must be multiply embodied, lived and experienced: a rooted aspect that smells like a rose, like a pine tree, like the ocean; that moves like the wind, like a snail, like a bear: that is stable and changing, resilient and intra-connected.
Fifth Meditation: Cosmic Constellations
In this chapter, we will address the question “Who are We?” rephrased, more specifically, as “Where are we, as a planet?” and “What is our cosmic embodiment?” We will delve into geology and the origins of the universe, cosmology, exobiology, astroarchaeology, space migration and space ethics. Our cosmic self will embrace the fabric of spacetime, quantum physics, gravitational waves, cosmic alliances and geological systems. Here, we will gain perspective on the cosmic web, realizing that everything, including planets, is changing: our expanding universe has no center. This macroscopic awareness will bring us crucial perspectives on wisdom and resilience, not to be caught in the limited, and limiting, perception that what is happening in human history is all we are. Our existences resonate well beyond the fragmented constitution of human geopolitics: on our path of self-discovery, existential takes on physics will show how the ways we are existing are (in)forming the sensitive network of spacetime: right here, right now.
Sixth Meditation: Technological Enhancement
In this chapter, we will embrace the question “Who are we?” in relation to “What can we be?” We will unveil technology as a dynamic of existence by asking questions such as “What is technology?” and “What do radical bio-technologies reveal, at the existential level?” We will focus, among other things, on digital technologies and the AI takeover scenario: artificial intelligence, on some level, has already taken over. We will address technological addiction, the Big Data economy and bio-hacking, among other topics. We will embrace technology in relation to ecology, delving into planetary enhancements within the geological era of the Anthropocene. Thereafter, we will unravel the impact of current and emerging technologies in direct evolution, addressing questions such as “Are technological entities aware?” and “Can the planet be enhanced?” We will thus explore hypothetical scenarios, such as the simulation hypothesis, to remark on the urgent need for existential awareness. In fact, enhancement is an intention that manifests relationally, not in isolation: the most significant type of enhancement we can aim for is to know who we are.
Seventh Meditation: Socio-cultural Agency
This chapter resonates with the need for social awareness. In order to understand who we are in the 21st century, we must address where we are at, where we come from, and where we are heading at the social level. We must unveil how and when collective habits are established and set our intentions about social manifestations. We will address questions such as “Who are we, as societies?”, “What is posthuman education?” and “How do we achieve posthuman parenthood?” We will reflect on key notions such as habits of existence, empathy, identity and conditioning. We will investigate social discriminations as social dis-eases that are not only life-threatening to the community, but also impediments towards full existential awareness to the individuals who are exposed to them. In doing this, we will realize the vital importance of dismantling segregative practices from our bodyminds, our societies, our planet and, more in general, our existential manifestations. We will approach society as a site of shared knowledge, ancestral wisdom and innovative expression on the collective path towards self-realization.
Eighth Meditation: Ontological Awareness
This chapter is dedicated to ontological awareness, consciousness hacking and the cosmic game. It offers specific insights into how to deconstruct unnecessary patterns and realize original archetypes of existence in the 21st century, asking questions such as “How can we reinvent ourselves in every moment, so that we are not caught in the repetition of predefined structures and hierarchies?” Everything in this world could be different, as such is the art of existential expression; and, also, everything in this world is manifesting out of deep intentions, actions and repetitions set in spacetime. Recognizing and acknowledging the way the world currently is allows us to be completely honest with ourselves. In this chapter, we will tackle the question “Who are we?” in relation to “Why are we?” We will pose related queries, such as “What is consciousness?” and “What is awareness?” We will explore technologies of existence through Nietzsche’s Übermensch and Foucault’s microphysics of power, the Hindu concept of lila and the Buddhist principle of non-self, among others. We will address topics such as the subject and the mind, panpsychism, poiesis, shamanism, mysticism and ecstasy. Our understanding of ourselves as archetypes of existence will lead us to our final conclusions.
Conclusions: Posthuman Mantra
The conclusions shed light on how existential posthumanism is directly affecting and effecting us, as individuals, societies, species, planets, and so on. This is a call to take a step further, merge in and treasure this substantial quest for self-discovery and species evolution in our posthuman era: like the sunlight, embracing all.
Methodology
The book develops in questions and answers through short subchapters. Each step of the exploration is supported by current scientific research, as well as ancient paths of wisdom. A wide range of sources are contemplated: from prehistory to the far futures, from fossil records to emerging and speculative technological inventions. Current scientific views are presented, as well as different sources of world knowledges, opening possibilities critically and perspectively. Given the amplitude of the topics addressed – from microbiology to paleontology, geology, astronomy, existentialism and self-care, among others – only the status quaestionis – that is, the state of investigation for each area of reflection – is presented. The goal is to offer food for posthuman thoughts in order to actualize key realizations about who we are, which may manifest in different modes of existence. For example, in chapter 5 we will reflect, among other topics, on plate tectonics. Although most people know about this theory’s scientific meaning, we will delve into its posthuman existential ramifications. The question is: why is this information relevant to our path towards self-knowledge? We will thus make a point against ultranationalism; ultimately, nations are not geological entities but socio-cultural and historical constructs. Knowing that even our continents are constantly changing, how can humans indulge in national pride and nationalistic hatred?
This book can be approached as a guide19 to posthuman existential awareness, offering multiple threads of reflection and enquiry. In mediating scholastic rigor and accessibility, the book implements examples, metaphors, thought experiments and exercises to ease the process of self-locating the reader as the agent and the seer. This is not a book about something, or someone, else: it is about us. Not only supportive of written traditions, it embraces oral traditions in their contents and methods. These archives of knowledges, based on the verbal arts, are present on all continents and precede the written form of transmission; they are routinely based on repetitions in order to assist the storytellers in remembering the lines, and the audience in grasping the main points. In this book, key insights are purposely repeated, in different forms and chapters, in line with the Latin saying repetita iuvant, which can be translated as “repeating is beneficial.” The integral choice of diverse repetitions through different fields of research is enacted purposely; the insights gained in every meditation resonate with one another, leading chorally and perspectively to posthuman awareness. From a methodological perspective, this reflects in the ways the book was conceived and actualized. The writing unfolded in nomadic and explorative manners. Like a bee20 moving from flower to flower, each topic has attracted and reattracted attention and intention beyond the soft boundaries of the chapters. Like forests, they have managed to reveal themselves through a great plethora of different subjects, all intra-connected. The result of these lines of flight is honey for bees, posthuman realizations for us.
The book’s architecture
Labyrinth
According to the Oxford Dictionary, a labyrinth is “a complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one’s way, a maze.”21 In anatomy, a labyrinth refers to “a complex structure in the inner ear which contains the organs of hearing and balance.”22 Labyrinths have deep symbolic meanings cross-culturally and trans-historically, representing the journey of life and death in the search for self-knowledge. The book is conceived in a non-linear fashion, like a labyrinth. The meditations can be read in any order; each is investigated thematically, organized by tags that can be approached through different trajectories. In this posthuman storytelling, the narrative is open to multiple outcomes which will unfold coinciding revelations. This approach is designed to offer readers an open canvas with a diverse set of tools to search in individualized and unique ways – an intentional garden, where key notions from a wide range of perspectives can be explored. Readers are invited to follow their intuition and deconstruct the transitory structure of the book, moving at their own rhythm: at the end of the journey, they will have a complete picture, no matter what.
The chapter structure
Each chapter, as a possible journey and destination, is designed in the following way.
Meditation: this part is the pulsating core of the chapter, a philosophical meditation based on questions and answers, organized by tags.
Farewell: this brief salutation is intended to accompany readers in their intentional journey through the book, facilitating a non-linear reading. The etymology of the term is revealing: “fare” comes from the Old English word faran, meaning “to journey”; “well” derives from wel, with the same encouraging meaning.
The text is mapped through tags, creating building blocks that can be connected, de-constructed and re-envisioned in different ways and orders. Tags and their contents can be approached as a set of building blocks to different paths of posthuman realizations, in the creative originality of posthuman existential manifestations. The order of the tags is based not on any primacy, but on open thematic narratives and affiliations that can be embraced throughout unlimited trajectories, in tune with our labyrinthine architecture. Each tag addresses a concept; some are presented generatively and critically; others are approached as possible obstacles. As in a maze, some paths are dead ends, becoming outdated and turning into loopholes, unsupportive of existential awareness. This is not a final judgment; these terms can eventually be accessed with different intentions and reveal completely unexpected outcomes. Yet, since they have developed significance in the ways they have been engaged historically, we need to be aware of their hermeneutic legacies and be cautious with their use. Such loopholes will be presented with a question mark (such as #Loopholes?). Lastly, the reflections following each tag are not meant to be exhaustive explanations of the term; rather, they are relevant mythopoetic accents in the unraveling of the discussion. This is why some tags, for instance, recur multiple times, investigated from different angles. Readers who wish to experience this book as a guided meditation with no interruption can trustfully rely on the present structure, following the given order of the meditations and tags. Readers can also enter the book as a labyrinth, free to move as they wish, accessing any section and/or chapter in a non-sequential manner. Honoring our visions, aware in the mystery of the adventure, each journey will be satisfying, and satisfied. Enjoy.
Notes
1.
In this book, the term “part” is often written as “(p)art” in order to underline that being a (p)art is also an art; being (p)art of something necessarily recognizes the following element as a form of art as well – for instance, in this case, the art of being everything.
2.
We are borrowing this spelling from Donna Haraway (2016).
3.
This was reported by his renowned disciple Plato (c. 429–347 BCE) in the
Apology
, a Socratic dialogue based on the self-defense Socrates shared during the trial that ended with his execution (399
BCE
). Socrates accepted the death penalty lightheartedly, stating: “The difficulty, my friends, is not to avoid death, but to avoid unrighteousness” (39a).
4.
The chronology is uncertain; it is dated between the sixth and, most likely, 4th century BCE.
5.
The timeline is subject to speculation; the early Upanishads may be placed in the 700 to 300 BCE range.
6.
It is challenging to determine the precise process by which the Torah was composed, being generated in different waves during the 1st (and possibly 2nd) millennium BCE.
7.
They were drafted between the 1st and 2nd century CE. According to the Gnostic Gospels, Christ is within. As it is stated in the Gospel of Mary: “For the Child of Humanity exists within you. Follow it. Those who search for it will find it” (King 2007: 742).
8.
It was written in the 6th and 7th century CE (first century AH). For a reflection about self-knowledge in the Islamic tradition, see Kakaie (2006), among others.
9.
Among the world philosophies analyzed in this book in relation to existential posthumanism are (in alphabetical order): Advaita Vedanta, Buddhism, Jainism, Rastafari, Shamanism, Sufism and Ubuntu.
10.
To be a philosopher is not to be confused with being a “philodox,” meaning someone in love with their own opinions – in classical Greek,
doxa
(δόξα) means “opinion.”
11.
Evolution is not hierarchical and does not imply any symbolic improvement; more clearly, it manifests in ontic differentiations.
12.
For instance, in
chapter 4
we will reflect on the importance of ecological balance for human health; we will also emphasize the role of the technosphere to current human survival. In
chapter 5
we will highlight Earth’s magnetosphere as a prerequisite for protecting life.
13.
In its multiple nuances, such as critical, cultural, philosophical and existential.
14.
Its different trends, such as democratic and libertarian transhumanism, extropianism, the singularity, etc.
15.
For instance, the movement associated with Foucault’s death of Man ([1966] 1970), as well as the Marxist approaches.
16.
See Ferrando (2019).
17.
In this text, the term “post-humanism” and its related adjective “post-humanist” are hyphenated when relating to the specific meaning: humanity in diversity. When not hyphenated, they refer to the posthumanist approach, which integrates post-humanist, post-anthropocentric and post-dualistic awareness (and, thus, it cannot be limited to one of them). In this sense, posthumanism exceeds post-humanism in its meanings and significations. In short, post-humanism is (p)art of posthumanism – as a philosophy and a movement.
18.
We are referring to strict dualities, not to the shifting and liquid dualism of, for instance, the Tao (see Meditation 1, note 23).
19.
Yet not the ultimate guide to the topic: such an epistemic claim would simply annihilate its scope.
20.
In this reference, I should like to pay homage to Professor Rosi Braidotti, who evocatively defined my previous book
Philosophical Posthumanism
(2019) as “a rapturous departure – the line of flight of a queen bee” (Braidotti 2019a: xvi).
21.
Oxford Dictionaries Online: entry “Labyrinth.”
22.
Ibid.
Meditation 1Posthuman Self-Enquiry
#Existential Posthumanism
What is existential posthumanism? Existential posthumanism is a path of self-enquiry and self-discovery, aimed at full existential awareness. It is not simply an academic trend; it can be found in all eras and geographical areas, from all cultural arenas. It is, in some sense, ahistorical, for it is not tied to a specific contextual, and conceptual, background. Like a wild card in poker, it can refer to different paths to (self-)realization, embracing the art of existing in the affects – and effects – each of us is unfolding in our revealing. Given that existence is in constant flux, in order to be integrally aware, we must be conscious of all the situated and embodied dimensions of our manifestations. Existential posthumanism, as a philosophy of life, approaches humans (in all of their diversities), other-than-human animals, technology and ecology relationally, investigating the human condition in co-emergences. This is the time to realize that our lives are our greatest legacy.1 By doing so, we can unfold the possibilities that surface by embracing existence as our ultimate work of art: ontological poiesis.2 Life is a journey, and we are the wanderers: anything can happen, and eventually does. “Posthuman,” in this sense, means being brave enough to know that the human condition is neither our destiny nor our nature but, rather, spatio-temporal manifestations of unlimited material and semiotic possibilities. The fact that specific histories and herstories have been foundational to the manifesting of our human societies does not mean that we need to repeat the canon: we can change it, right here, right now. We can manifest different ways of existing, enacting our own cosmic game.3 In order to be conscious channels in the unfolding of our existential manifestations, we need to be completely aware of who we are.
Who are we? We4 are. Ways of revealing; (actions of) the multiverse; trans-forming energies.5 Born out of a specific planet: Earth. In a specific era: the 21st century (so defined in accordance with the Gregorian calendar; other measures of time reveal different definitions). From biological parents of a specific species: Homo sapiens. We are quite unique: everyone is. In order to realize who we are, we need to acknowledge our specificities as well as our commonalities. On the path of self-discovery, this is the (st)art. As the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) put it: “the first step is the last step. The first step is the step of clear perception, and that act of clear perception is the last act” (2012: 42). We must be clear with our visions; they are already (p)art of our manifestations. At the existential level,6 existence is all we have: that’s plenty.
Existential posthumanism addresses the primal question of existence “Who am I?” not in isolation, but relationally, together with other foundational questions, such as “What am I?,” “Who are You?” and “Where and when are We?” This is the ontological epiphany of relationality, according to which relata7 and relations are not in competition for primacy; they can only co-emerge, in the present moment. The philosopher of science Karen Barad (b. 1956) clearly explains: “relata do not precede relations; rather, relata-within-phenomena emerge through specific intra-actions” (2007: 334). The rich trajectory of material feminism8 underlines how the ontological is not independent from socio-political, bio-cultural, eco-technological and, more in general, spatio-temporal elements. This dimensional co-manifestation is nourished by, and is nourishing, unlimited and constantly shifting layers of existence. The one and the many are not in separation. Quite the opposite: they induce an understanding of the notion of the self that transcends the loneliness of the autonomous humanist “Subject,”9 in the recognition of the others as ontologically and necessarily co-generative of the Self. A pluralistic monism and a monistic pluralism:10 we inter-are.
Notes
1.
See
chapter 8
.
2.
See
chapter 6
,
#Poiesis.
3.
For an explanation of the Hindu notion of
lila
, see
chapter 8
,
#(P)Art
.
4.
In this specific context, “we” refers to us as a species.
5.
The word “energy” comes from ancient Greek: the preposition
en
(which can be translated as “in”), and the word
ergon
(ἔργον), which can be translated as “action”; energy can thus emerge as “in action.”
6.
Here, we are referring to the level of existence. The level of non- existence entails the realm of nothingness, which is in, and beyond, space and time. See
chapter 8
,
#Non-Being
.
7.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, a
relatum
(singular form for
relata
in Latin), means: “Each of two or more terms, objects, or events between which a relation exists” (Oxford Dictionaries Online: entry “Relatum”).
8.
See, among others, Alaimo (2010), Coole and Frost (2010) and Bennett (2010).
9.
See
chapter 8
,
#Subject.
10.
For a clarification on this double use of the terms, see Ferrando (2019: ch. 29).
11.
Please note that, for the sake of clarity, we will adopt a hyphenated spelling – “inter-being” – instead of “interbeing.”
12.
In its physical form. If You are reading this book in its digital form, this example also applies in different yet similar ways.
13.
See
chapter 3
.
14.
See
chapter 4
.
15.
See
chapter 8
,
#Subject
.
16.
It is important to note that Martin Heidegger rejected Sartre’s approach in his “Letter on ‘Humanism’” ([1947] 1998), which is considered a founding text in the genealogy of the posthuman.
17.
See
chapter 7
.
18.
See
chapter 5
.
19.
See
chapter 4
.
20.
Translation mine. In Italian: “È bello diventare vecchi, non è bello trovarsi.”
21.
See
chapter 4
.
22.
Oxford Dictionary, entry “anthropocentric.”
23.
For instance, in the foundational text
Tao Te Ching
(dating at least to 600 BCE), it is stated: “The supreme good is like water, / which nourishes all things without trying to. / It is content with the low places that people disdain. / Thus it is like the Tao” (Lao Tzu 1999, verse 8).
24.
Thanks to the philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah (b. 1954) for pointing this out at the Liberal Studies Global Research Colloquium, New York University, March 25th 2016.
25.
We will delve into this in
chapters 3
and
4
.
26.
In
chapter 2
, we will investigate mediated anthropocentrism as another possible form.
27.
We will expand on this in
chapter 8
.
28.
See Abourezk (2009).
29.
As LaDuke phrases it: “In that guilt, the perpetrator is not healthy either” (2011).
30.
As Professor Philip Landrigan et al. summarize: “All of the health impacts of ocean pollution fall disproportionately on vulnerable populations in the Global South – environmental injustice on a planetary scale” (2020: 2). For further reflection on this, see
chapter 4
.
