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Philosophical Posthumanism
The notion of 'the human' is in need of urgent redefinition. At a time of radical bio-technological developments, and in light of the political and environmental imperatives of our age, the term 'posthuman' provides an alternative.
The philosophical landscape which has developed as a response to the crisis of the human, includes several movements, such as: Posthumanism, Transhumanism, Antihumanism and Object Oriented Ontology. This book explains the similarities and differences between these currents and offers a detailed examination of a number of topics that fall under the “posthuman” umbrella, including the anthropocene, artificial intelligence and the deconstruction of the human.
Francesca Ferrando affords particular focus to Philosophical Posthumanism, defined as a philosophy of mediation which addresses the meaning of humanity not in separation, but in relation to technology and ecology. The posthuman shift thus emerges in the global call for social change, responsible science and multispecies coexistence.
The philosophical landscape which has developed as a response to the crisis of the human, includes several movements, such as: Posthumanism, Transhumanism, Antihumanism and Object Oriented Ontology. This book explains the similarities and differences between these currents and offers a detailed examination of a number of topics that fall under the “posthuman” umbrella, including the anthropocene, artificial intelligence and the deconstruction of the human.
Francesca Ferrando affords particular focus to Philosophical Posthumanism, defined as a philosophy of mediation which addresses the meaning of humanity not in separation, but in relation to technology and ecology. The posthuman shift thus emerges in the global call for social change, responsible science and multispecies coexistence.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 27, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 3, 2024
Francesca Ferrando’s IMPRESSIVE and ACCESSIBLE introduction to PHILOSOPHICAL POSTHUMANISM (PPH).
For those of you that don’t know (and it’s 100% ok if you don’t) PPH refers to a current trend in philosophy and the humanities, that challenges traditional humanism, human specieism, human centrality, and the human construct.
HISTORY OF THE HUMAN CONSTRUCT
Fernando begins with a historical deconstruction of the human construct. She traces its origin to Ancient Greece.
Apparently. The Ancients only considered propertied men to be human. Women, children and slaves and barbarians didn’t count. As barbaric as that sounds. Fernando argues pretty convincingly that our current society deems the homeless, disabled, queer, brown and poor to be functionally less human than able bodied, rich, western, educated, athletic white men. And well…. it’s hard to deny that argument.
So anyway.
If we didn’t always view ourselves or each other as “human”.
Then perhaps the human construct is not a “natural fact”.
But is rather, culturally mediated and as such mutable.
If so.
Perhaps we can revise it.
And make it less toxic.
Or more transcendent.
Or both.
POST/TRANS-HUMANISM
Ferrando identifies two major streams of PPH. (1) posthumanism- and (2) transhumanism.
POSTHUMANISM
Fernando asserts that posthumanism seeks to deconstruct the notion of HUMAN/HUMANITY.
Posthumanism aims to decenter the human from ontology, and to deprioritize humanity from its assumed top status amongst earthlings, and as such to redefine humanity’s place within the broader context of life and the environment.
In other words.
Posthumanism wants to knock humans down a peg. Fernando refers this anti anthropocentric position as HUMAN/MINUS or H(-)for short.
The H(-) position views humans as necessarily interconnected and interdependent with other life forms and the environment, promoting a holistic understanding of existence that includes animals, plants, and even technological entities.
The H(-) position advocates for an ethical framework that extends beyond anthropocentric concerns and seeks to extend personhood status to include other species, including plants rivers, forests, and even “nonliving” entities.
The H(-) position integrates feminist, decolonial, and other critical perspectives to address issues of social justice, inequality, and discrimination. It seeks to dismantle power structures that have historically marginalized certain groups/species.
TRANSHUMANISM
Transhumanism is a philosophical and cultural movement that advocates for the use of advanced technologies to enhance human physical and cognitive abilities and lifespan.
In other words.
Transhumanism wants to boof humans up. Fernando refers this anthrotrancemdent
position as HUMAN/PLUS or H(+) for short.
The H(+) position promotes the idea of using information technology and biotechnology to significantly enhance human physical and intellectual capacities. This includes improvements in health, lifespan, strength, intelligence, and overall well-being.
The H(+) position promotes genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, robotics, and brain-computer interfaces, and biohacking.
The H(+) position the extension of human lifespan, with some proponents aiming for the elimination of aging and even the attainment of immortality through technological means.
The H(+) position is rooted in Enlightenment ideals of progress, rationality, and the pursuit of knowledge. It also draws on ideas from futurism, science fiction, and bioethics.
The H(+) envisions a future where humans transcend their current biological and cognitive limitations, leading to a posthuman era.
Ferrando does a FANTASTIC job of laying out each position. Overall, PPH offers a profound rethinking of humanity’s status in the world, advocating for a more inclusive, ethical, and interconnected understanding of personhood.
PPH challenges readers to rethink old assumptions about who we are, what it means to be us, and what it may be like to be a (post/trans) human in the future.
For those of you that don’t know (and it’s 100% ok if you don’t) PPH refers to a current trend in philosophy and the humanities, that challenges traditional humanism, human specieism, human centrality, and the human construct.
HISTORY OF THE HUMAN CONSTRUCT
Fernando begins with a historical deconstruction of the human construct. She traces its origin to Ancient Greece.
Apparently. The Ancients only considered propertied men to be human. Women, children and slaves and barbarians didn’t count. As barbaric as that sounds. Fernando argues pretty convincingly that our current society deems the homeless, disabled, queer, brown and poor to be functionally less human than able bodied, rich, western, educated, athletic white men. And well…. it’s hard to deny that argument.
So anyway.
If we didn’t always view ourselves or each other as “human”.
Then perhaps the human construct is not a “natural fact”.
But is rather, culturally mediated and as such mutable.
If so.
Perhaps we can revise it.
And make it less toxic.
Or more transcendent.
Or both.
POST/TRANS-HUMANISM
Ferrando identifies two major streams of PPH. (1) posthumanism- and (2) transhumanism.
POSTHUMANISM
Fernando asserts that posthumanism seeks to deconstruct the notion of HUMAN/HUMANITY.
Posthumanism aims to decenter the human from ontology, and to deprioritize humanity from its assumed top status amongst earthlings, and as such to redefine humanity’s place within the broader context of life and the environment.
In other words.
Posthumanism wants to knock humans down a peg. Fernando refers this anti anthropocentric position as HUMAN/MINUS or H(-)for short.
The H(-) position views humans as necessarily interconnected and interdependent with other life forms and the environment, promoting a holistic understanding of existence that includes animals, plants, and even technological entities.
The H(-) position advocates for an ethical framework that extends beyond anthropocentric concerns and seeks to extend personhood status to include other species, including plants rivers, forests, and even “nonliving” entities.
The H(-) position integrates feminist, decolonial, and other critical perspectives to address issues of social justice, inequality, and discrimination. It seeks to dismantle power structures that have historically marginalized certain groups/species.
TRANSHUMANISM
Transhumanism is a philosophical and cultural movement that advocates for the use of advanced technologies to enhance human physical and cognitive abilities and lifespan.
In other words.
Transhumanism wants to boof humans up. Fernando refers this anthrotrancemdent
position as HUMAN/PLUS or H(+) for short.
The H(+) position promotes the idea of using information technology and biotechnology to significantly enhance human physical and intellectual capacities. This includes improvements in health, lifespan, strength, intelligence, and overall well-being.
The H(+) position promotes genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, robotics, and brain-computer interfaces, and biohacking.
The H(+) position the extension of human lifespan, with some proponents aiming for the elimination of aging and even the attainment of immortality through technological means.
The H(+) position is rooted in Enlightenment ideals of progress, rationality, and the pursuit of knowledge. It also draws on ideas from futurism, science fiction, and bioethics.
The H(+) envisions a future where humans transcend their current biological and cognitive limitations, leading to a posthuman era.
Ferrando does a FANTASTIC job of laying out each position. Overall, PPH offers a profound rethinking of humanity’s status in the world, advocating for a more inclusive, ethical, and interconnected understanding of personhood.
PPH challenges readers to rethink old assumptions about who we are, what it means to be us, and what it may be like to be a (post/trans) human in the future.
July 23, 2022
“Људи више нису најважнија ствар у свемиру.”
💀
Постхуманизам измешта човека из центра дискурса, а живот види као биотехнолошки асамблаж. Антропоцен/еремозоик, појам за текућу еру, (про)носи свест о екоцидном деловању човека који није супериорна врста – не налази се на врху хијерархије (у природном поретку). Другост и мањине добијају глас. Речима Франческе Ферандо: “Post-humanism implies the understanding of the plurality of the human experience; the human is not recognized as one but as many, that is, human(s)—thus undermining the humanist tradition based on a generalized and universalized approach to the human. Post-anthropocentrism refers to decentering the human in relation to the nonhuman; it is based on the realization that the human species has been placed in a hierarchical scale and has been granted an ontological privilege in the large majority of the historical accounts on the human. Post-dualism relies on the awareness that dualism has been employed as a rigid way to define identity, based on a closed notion of the self and actualized in symbolic dichotomies, such as “us”/“them,” “friend”/“foe,” “civilized”/“barbarian” and so on.”
Постхуманизам извире из постмодернизма и тзв. критичког постхуманизма (књижевне критике), а ослања се и на пост-структурализам (Деридину деконструкцију). И док постхуманизам подразумева промену перспекриве, тачније пригрљивање лепезе перспектива, трансхуманизам фиксира коеволуцију човека и технологије (техногенезу) и навија за биотехнолошку измену човека до нове врсте (Homo technicus?). Али, технологија мора бити усклађена са животном средином, мора бити еко-технологија, одговарају постхуманисти. “The centrality of the machine is not in tune with Philosophical Posthumanism, according to which the machine is part of evolution, but evolution is not approached as a vertical process: as Stephen Gould pointed out, in line with Charles Darwin, evolution does not move toward complexity but toward diversification. (…) Evolution does not imply any type of hierarchy nor progression from inferior to superior organisms, nor does it support any essentialism or strict dualism; rather, it complies with a hybrid, processual perception of existence, which is in tune with Philosophical Posthumanism.”
“Epigenetics plays a crucial role in the posthumanist deconstruction of the nature/culture divide, which turns into the more fluid “natureculture” proposal, such as in cyborg, and new materialist, feminist theory, according to which nature and culture are inherently entangled.”
💚
“On one side, a posthumanist approach calls for a bioethical standing that exceeds the realm of human exceptionalism. In this sense, the precautionary principle shall be implemented also when dealing with nonhuman life and with the bio-sphere, for instance, by taking seriously the hazards of GMO crops contaminating non-GMO and organic crops through cross-pollination, and the incidence of abnormalities in cloned animal, among other issues. From a post-dualistic perspective, human enhancement is not just about the human condition. The evolution of the human species shall be reflected upon in relation to the evolution of planet Earth. In fact, the development of genetic enhancement technologies may have major effects not only from a sociopolitical standpoint but also from a biological and environmental one.”
🌍
“Instead of erecting new buildings, humans should focus on restoring abandoned structures and rehabilitating the numerous sites that have been heavily polluted by human actions, implementing ecosystem management and ecological engineering, until the dynamic balance has been re-established, to later diminish human intervention in order to sustain multispecies co-habitation and co-existence.” (…) Vandana Shiva: "Ecological security is our most basic security; ecological identities are our most fundamental identities. We are the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe.”
Сва жива бића су сродна, биће није изолован ентитет, већ је укључен у разне биотичке односе, што имплицира брисање дихотомије сопство/другост.
“[F]rom a posthumanist perspectivist standpoint...facts can be seen as the integrated landscape of all the material perspectives related to a specific factual node. (…) Pluralism, with its emphasis on the respectful co-existence of different perspectives, individuals, groups, and systems, is at the core of Philosophical Posthumanism. (…) [E]ach species processes reality in a different way; this cognitive difference does not imply a hierarchy, as each perception of the world is adequate to the correspondent species. (…) We” are (also) our gut microbiota, but “we” do not think of “them” as such, most of the times. The food “we” eat literally becomes part of our bodies. The environment “we” inhabit has a direct impact on the epigenetic regulation of our gene expression, and so on. We are like oceans, but we often do not think of us in these extended and dynamic ways.”
🦋
“Roberto Marchesini presents the notion of “animal epiphany” to refer to the sense of revelation, fascination, and/or terror (but not indifference), that humans have always experienced toward nonhuman animals, and that has been silenced in the historical categorization of the nonhuman animal as inferior, and/or as an absence. (…) Frank White defines as “the overview effect” the series of epiphanies experienced by astronauts looking at the Earth from outer space.”
Карл Лине – расиста и сексиста:
“[W]hen Nietzsche proclaims the death of God, he is referring not only to religion, but also to science, if it becomes the final authority to be revered and blindly accepted. Nietzsche’s God should be intended broadly, as any external authority imposing their Truth to the individual. More in general, the death of God should be approached as a metaphor to reject any external imposition about our own life, trying to find instead our individual voice: different perspectives should be respected and cultivated. The death of any external Truth allows for the birth of the Übermensch—or, of the fully empowered individual. This is an extraordinary gift that Nietzsche has given us all. (…) What if your life was going to come back exactly the same, and we mean exactly the same, forever? (…) According to Nietzsche, the person that can joyfully accept this thought experiment is the Übermensch.”
💀
Постхуманизам измешта човека из центра дискурса, а живот види као биотехнолошки асамблаж. Антропоцен/еремозоик, појам за текућу еру, (про)носи свест о екоцидном деловању човека који није супериорна врста – не налази се на врху хијерархије (у природном поретку). Другост и мањине добијају глас. Речима Франческе Ферандо: “Post-humanism implies the understanding of the plurality of the human experience; the human is not recognized as one but as many, that is, human(s)—thus undermining the humanist tradition based on a generalized and universalized approach to the human. Post-anthropocentrism refers to decentering the human in relation to the nonhuman; it is based on the realization that the human species has been placed in a hierarchical scale and has been granted an ontological privilege in the large majority of the historical accounts on the human. Post-dualism relies on the awareness that dualism has been employed as a rigid way to define identity, based on a closed notion of the self and actualized in symbolic dichotomies, such as “us”/“them,” “friend”/“foe,” “civilized”/“barbarian” and so on.”
Постхуманизам извире из постмодернизма и тзв. критичког постхуманизма (књижевне критике), а ослања се и на пост-структурализам (Деридину деконструкцију). И док постхуманизам подразумева промену перспекриве, тачније пригрљивање лепезе перспектива, трансхуманизам фиксира коеволуцију човека и технологије (техногенезу) и навија за биотехнолошку измену човека до нове врсте (Homo technicus?). Али, технологија мора бити усклађена са животном средином, мора бити еко-технологија, одговарају постхуманисти. “The centrality of the machine is not in tune with Philosophical Posthumanism, according to which the machine is part of evolution, but evolution is not approached as a vertical process: as Stephen Gould pointed out, in line with Charles Darwin, evolution does not move toward complexity but toward diversification. (…) Evolution does not imply any type of hierarchy nor progression from inferior to superior organisms, nor does it support any essentialism or strict dualism; rather, it complies with a hybrid, processual perception of existence, which is in tune with Philosophical Posthumanism.”
“Epigenetics plays a crucial role in the posthumanist deconstruction of the nature/culture divide, which turns into the more fluid “natureculture” proposal, such as in cyborg, and new materialist, feminist theory, according to which nature and culture are inherently entangled.”
💚
“On one side, a posthumanist approach calls for a bioethical standing that exceeds the realm of human exceptionalism. In this sense, the precautionary principle shall be implemented also when dealing with nonhuman life and with the bio-sphere, for instance, by taking seriously the hazards of GMO crops contaminating non-GMO and organic crops through cross-pollination, and the incidence of abnormalities in cloned animal, among other issues. From a post-dualistic perspective, human enhancement is not just about the human condition. The evolution of the human species shall be reflected upon in relation to the evolution of planet Earth. In fact, the development of genetic enhancement technologies may have major effects not only from a sociopolitical standpoint but also from a biological and environmental one.”
🌍
“Instead of erecting new buildings, humans should focus on restoring abandoned structures and rehabilitating the numerous sites that have been heavily polluted by human actions, implementing ecosystem management and ecological engineering, until the dynamic balance has been re-established, to later diminish human intervention in order to sustain multispecies co-habitation and co-existence.” (…) Vandana Shiva: "Ecological security is our most basic security; ecological identities are our most fundamental identities. We are the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe.”
Сва жива бића су сродна, биће није изолован ентитет, већ је укључен у разне биотичке односе, што имплицира брисање дихотомије сопство/другост.
“[F]rom a posthumanist perspectivist standpoint...facts can be seen as the integrated landscape of all the material perspectives related to a specific factual node. (…) Pluralism, with its emphasis on the respectful co-existence of different perspectives, individuals, groups, and systems, is at the core of Philosophical Posthumanism. (…) [E]ach species processes reality in a different way; this cognitive difference does not imply a hierarchy, as each perception of the world is adequate to the correspondent species. (…) We” are (also) our gut microbiota, but “we” do not think of “them” as such, most of the times. The food “we” eat literally becomes part of our bodies. The environment “we” inhabit has a direct impact on the epigenetic regulation of our gene expression, and so on. We are like oceans, but we often do not think of us in these extended and dynamic ways.”
🦋
“Roberto Marchesini presents the notion of “animal epiphany” to refer to the sense of revelation, fascination, and/or terror (but not indifference), that humans have always experienced toward nonhuman animals, and that has been silenced in the historical categorization of the nonhuman animal as inferior, and/or as an absence. (…) Frank White defines as “the overview effect” the series of epiphanies experienced by astronauts looking at the Earth from outer space.”
Карл Лине – расиста и сексиста:
“[W]hen Nietzsche proclaims the death of God, he is referring not only to religion, but also to science, if it becomes the final authority to be revered and blindly accepted. Nietzsche’s God should be intended broadly, as any external authority imposing their Truth to the individual. More in general, the death of God should be approached as a metaphor to reject any external imposition about our own life, trying to find instead our individual voice: different perspectives should be respected and cultivated. The death of any external Truth allows for the birth of the Übermensch—or, of the fully empowered individual. This is an extraordinary gift that Nietzsche has given us all. (…) What if your life was going to come back exactly the same, and we mean exactly the same, forever? (…) According to Nietzsche, the person that can joyfully accept this thought experiment is the Übermensch.”
June 1, 2020
Positioned as a post-anthropocentric, post-humanist, post-dualistic construct, philosophical posthumanism proposes an inclusive perspective of the human. The human is viewed as part of a whole rhizomatic network (among others) whose purpose is to deconstruct dualities and develop a fresh reading of the human as a "being-with" technology, nature, the universe and so on.
January 23, 2020
Dr. Ferrando's dissection of posthuman thought and research (as well as her own work) is beyond compare. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the notion of the posthuman. It includes a great foreword by Rosi Braidotti as well.
Read
July 31, 2020great read!
Read
November 1, 2021Pfew, difficult read this one! At least for me. This book is the (extended) dissertation of Francesca Ferrando, so it is quite a high level and dense. I skipped the middle part. My goal was to write an article on my blog https://superhumantalks.com about posthumanisme. And for that, this is of course a must-read! I think I need to supplement this with video's of her presentations and interviews (in podcasts).
June 2, 2023
It’s extremely difficult to find an academic work that is so complex, variegated, relevant, exhaustive, and subtly written - all at the same time. It’s even more rare to find such a book that manages all of these while being accessible for the beginners of the field and interesting for scholars specifically interested in the subject matter.
Mentally stimulating, greatly structured, masterly executed, and more relevant than ever!
Mentally stimulating, greatly structured, masterly executed, and more relevant than ever!
March 19, 2024
I LOVE Francesca Ferrando. I thinks she doesn't get as much appreciation in the field of Philosophical Posthumanism, to the extent of theorists like Braidotti or Barad, precisely because she's more clear and concise of a writer. The other two bring a deep sense of poetry to the field, but Ferrando brings clarity, and for that I fall at her feet.
December 29, 2024
A rewrite of the authors PhD thesis. Although divided into brief thematic chapters that generally follow well, it still reads as a brief (200p) redaction rather than a flowing exposition. Ironically, in its definition of the human condition, the work is highly eurocentric, highlighting the difficulties in thinking outside cultural programming, let alone the human condition.
January 3, 2021
Amazing, smart, fresh but classy! Prof. Ferrando will make you think. Can you ask for more these days?? I loved it!
March 22, 2021
It was a hard read for a layperson like me. But I find it is a mind-blowing exploration of our shared condition and potential.
December 30, 2025
Coherent and readable. The absolute best place to start in getting to grips posthuman thought.
October 15, 2022
Reading this was like mental popping candy. Would really recommend. Below is my likely error-laden summary of the key ideas.
Francesca Ferrando explains a philosophical movement called 'philosophical posthumanism'.
The movement is:
* post-human
* post-anthropocentrism
* post-dualism
Post-human means that what we think of everyday as 'human' needs to be deconstructed.
We use 'human' today as a mostly universalist term over our species, the homo sapien. This wasn't always so. Various minority groups of people were often excluded from being counted as human, usually through race, religion and gender. So if this seems barbaric in hindsight, are we applying the term correctly today?
Also, technologists are continuously developing new technologies for enhancing the human mind and body. This is different from technology created as therapy for reducing human suffering. As technological enhancements develop, cheered on by an adjacent philosophical movement 'transhumanism', it becomes ambiguous whether the 'human' label can still be well applied universally. The development of AI also opens up the same kinds of ambiguities.
Post-anthropocentrism means knowledge we have gathered so far must be critically revisited to displace us, the 'humans', from the centre of what's occurring.
Most societies have a consensus of human exceptionalism. This means that we tend to see humans at the top of a hierarchy. Holding a special place in the universe for multiple reasons, for example our mental capacity to experience the world. This often leads the 'humans' to control whatever they deem to be 'inhuman'. In the past, this was practically seen in everything from fascism to the slave trade. Today we still see it in a broad way through speciesism around meat consumption.
Post-dualism means we must stop absolutely dividing things into two groups. Instead, embrace true plurality and accept that the world can only be experienced through a huge variety of perspectives.
The key example of a dualism related to humans is human/non-human. In order to put humans in a hierarchy above everything else, we have to sort the world into humans and 'everything else' or 'non-humans', creating a dualism in our thinking.
Francesca Ferrando explains a philosophical movement called 'philosophical posthumanism'.
The movement is:
* post-human
* post-anthropocentrism
* post-dualism
Post-human means that what we think of everyday as 'human' needs to be deconstructed.
We use 'human' today as a mostly universalist term over our species, the homo sapien. This wasn't always so. Various minority groups of people were often excluded from being counted as human, usually through race, religion and gender. So if this seems barbaric in hindsight, are we applying the term correctly today?
Also, technologists are continuously developing new technologies for enhancing the human mind and body. This is different from technology created as therapy for reducing human suffering. As technological enhancements develop, cheered on by an adjacent philosophical movement 'transhumanism', it becomes ambiguous whether the 'human' label can still be well applied universally. The development of AI also opens up the same kinds of ambiguities.
Post-anthropocentrism means knowledge we have gathered so far must be critically revisited to displace us, the 'humans', from the centre of what's occurring.
Most societies have a consensus of human exceptionalism. This means that we tend to see humans at the top of a hierarchy. Holding a special place in the universe for multiple reasons, for example our mental capacity to experience the world. This often leads the 'humans' to control whatever they deem to be 'inhuman'. In the past, this was practically seen in everything from fascism to the slave trade. Today we still see it in a broad way through speciesism around meat consumption.
Post-dualism means we must stop absolutely dividing things into two groups. Instead, embrace true plurality and accept that the world can only be experienced through a huge variety of perspectives.
The key example of a dualism related to humans is human/non-human. In order to put humans in a hierarchy above everything else, we have to sort the world into humans and 'everything else' or 'non-humans', creating a dualism in our thinking.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews