HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE POSTHUMANISM & THE NATURAL // CULTURAL BINARY
MATTHEW EDGSON
HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE
In Response to the Question How does the posthuman challenge and interrogate the traditional binary of nature and culture and what are its political implications? Show how your analysis can be applied through the choice of at least two examples of posthumanism/posthuman interventions.
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HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE
HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE
Contents A Mathematical Problem ................................................................... 7 Building an Extension (No, Not for My House).................................11 Posthuman Intervention Analysis #1 ................................................ 17 Electric Existence ............................................................................. 21 Posthuman Intervention Analysis #2 ................................................ 29 Conclusion ....................................................................................... 34 5
Let’s begin with a mathematical problem...
r
HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE
r
Squaring the Circle Create a square with an equal area as that of a circle. [1]
This was considered impossible, until Leonardo Da Vinci proposed an
alternative approach‌ Fig 1. Squaring the Circle
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The Vitruvian Man Informed by the theories of Marcus Vitruvius Pollio.
r
Mankind is shown to fill the areas of both circle and square, hence presenting itself as the metaphorical solution to ‘Squaring the Circle’.
Fig 2. The Vitruvian Man
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HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE A hierarchy of entities ranging from God through to minerals.[2] Traditionally, humanity sits as “neither of heaven nor of earth”(Mirandola, 1956: 7); mortal bodies encasing immortal souls existing at the halfway point of this system.[3]
Fig 3. The Great Chain of Being
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola proposed an alternate philosophy; suggesting that man is “capable of transforming itself”(Mirandola, 1956: 9), able to assume whichever role he chooses: angel, animal, vegetation, demon e.t.c.[4] The Renaissance represented mankind as a measure of all things; a form of perfection. However, this concept is being challenged— particularly by the expanding role of technology in society, and the notion of ‘posthumanism’.
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“
The posthuman view thinks of the body as the original prosthesis we all learn to manipulate, so that extending or replacing the body with other prostheses becomes a continuation of a process that began before we were born.
�
- N. Katherine Hayles, 1999: 3 [5]
SECTION ONE
BUILDING AN EXTENSION (NO, NOT FOR MY HOUSE)
HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE The multiplicity of technology accessible in the 21st Century is creating posthumans of us all; becoming “extensions of some human faculty— psychic or physical” (McLuhan, 2001: 26).[6] Radio broadcasting and mobile phones extend the mouth and ear into the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation— of “Hertzian Space” (Dunne & Raby, 2001: 8); fulfilling our desire to throw our voices across the globe to anyone willing to listen.[7]
Important:
Objects do not transport us into the electromagnetic space. As Dunne & Raby describe, electromagnetic radiation “is all around us”; it is “emitted by some objects, reflected by others and absorbed by others again” (Dunne & Raby, 2001: 12).[8] The problem is our eyes cannot see many of these ‘other spaces’; technological objects reveal them to us. Given how integrated electronic objects are in our lives, it is clear we crave interaction with the ‘other space’, and the mobile phone/ broadcast device embodies the desire of many humans to escape to it; and from the physical limits Fig 4. Hertzian Mouths
of our bodies.
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Fig 5. Iron Man
Fictional
space
permeates—
and
maximises— enhancement of our bodies through technology. The comic book superhero Iron Man epitomises this point. First appearing in 1963, the story depicts the human Tony Stark who, whilst wearing a well equipped suit of armour, is granted abilities
beyond
the
capabilities
of normal humans such as flight, increased durability and strength and considerable firepower.[9]
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HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE Fig 6. I am Iron Man... Sh*t
The character becomes a sharp comment on the physical limits of the human body, and the superiority of technological enhancement.
“ Whatever your strengths, you’re still just a man. But Iron Man is more than that! Much more! ”
- Byrne, Iron Man Vol. 1 #275
[10]
Repeatedly shown to defeat vast militarised forces on his own,[11] Iron Man questions the militarisation of man and the image of the soldier; is it destined to be human or a technological entity? Or an amalgamation of both? Regardless of the militarised context, Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man and the concept of man as perfection is directly challenged by the notion of the superhero. Mirandola’s theory on the “Great Chain of Being” is also given new context; suggesting man is only capable of assuming greater forms, and controlling the evolution of the species through the use of technology.
“ Of course I can fly... I AM IRON MAN!
Wait... Does that mean I’m not human? Sh*t!
” 14
Fig 7. Nuclear War
HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE
This concept of harnessing technology as a superpower isn’t an exclusively fictional device. Iron Man stories were published alongside the developing political tension of the Cold War,[12] within which— as Raymond Ojserkis writes— revolved around technological developments;
it were not for the stocks of atomic “ Ifbombs now in the trusteeship of the United States there would be no means of stopping the subjugation of Western Europe by
”
Communist machinations.
- Ojserkis, 2003: 33[13]
How did this pursuit of technological superiority affect the perception of America? One definition of technological determinism states “that technology is the dominant factor in social change” (Bimber, 1990: 2).[14] Events such as the ‘Arms Race’ and the ‘Space Race’ did indeed advance the social structure of America, but these events also served as defining moments in American history. In that sense— similarly to Iron Man— technological paraphernalia became a central component in constructing America’s modern identity.
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POSTHUMAN INTERVENTION ANALYSIS #1 Photography presents as an interesting example of “biomorphic expression” (Dunne, 1999: 35); enhancing both physical and psychological components of the body.
[15]
SECTION TWO PHOTOGRAPHY
HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE
The Eye... Superseded by the Camera Fig 8. The Eye & the Camera
which allows for manipulation of viewing angle, viewing distance and even details which our eyes would otherwise not see. The camera lens also grants entry into an ‘other space’. In Stillness in Time, David English writes of the 35mm Summilux lens; in particular how it “seems to hold time still, as though the scene is carefully balanced between life as it is and life as it could be.” (English, 2012).[16]
The camera succeeds in making not only our eyes seem limited, but our perception of the world as well; as it turns out, our environments are an endless variety of realities— which can be accessed, constructed and manipulated— but only through the camera lens.
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in
. l i a f can
People forget things, and conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia devastate it.[17] The camera industry is engineered
bra
to profit from this; marketing strategies such as “we capture your memories forever” (Eastman Kodak) suggest that the brain cannot retain our memories exclusively, so our trust
Th
e
must be placed in an object to do it for us.
Fig 9. Brain Backup
This suggestion isn’t flawless; technical glitches and product damage can cause the camera to fail. Nevertheless, with Nikon turning over $10,744,221,000 in 2013[18] and 880 billion photos predicted to be taken in 2014[19], it is clear we are turning to our cameras to capture more moments than ever before— and losing faith in our bodies ability to do so.
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HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE
HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE
“ Every photo is a slice of time. ” - English, 2012
We see “the electromagnetic spectrum as an inhabitable [20]
Photography makes it possible to reproduce memories/ experiences and share them with other people, pervading society through social networks such as Instagram. We are experiencing a shift; our memories are transforming from electrical impulses inside the brain into data bits, catapulted into the electromagnetic space, where they exist forever. As Aleks Krotoski reports, this online culture
landscape” which is now “constantly under threat from commercial over-development” (Dunne & Raby, 2001: 15).[23] The photo sharing platform Instagram evidences humanity’s exploitation of hertzian space to complete narcissistic fantasies; as our bodies age and deteriorate, we use our photographs to document, preserve and impose ourselves on the electromagnetic spectrum, and the multitude of other network users.
presents another challenge of the Vitruvian Man and the supposed perfect form;
“
likes and a “ 226 poke. Not a bad afterlife... ”
The web effectively makes us immortal. The upside is that we can live on. There are thousands of dead people who are still
receiving updates, and even being poked
”
on Facebook.
Fig 10. Social Afterlife
- Krotoski, 2010 [21]
Technology provides us with a unique way to interact
Marshall McLuhan writes of the unique sensory perception
its associated network allows us newfound control in
This possibility has led to a change in human behaviour. ratios offered by the media, which change how we perceive the world, and that “When these ratios change, men change” (McLuhan, 2001: 41).[22]
with our own image like never before; the camera and presenting ourselves in the ‘other space’. Through this visual autobiographical process, our technology curates our identities.
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“
In the posthuman, there are no essential differences or absolute demarcations between bodily existence and computer simulation, cybernetic mechanism and biological organism, robot teleology and human goals.
�
- N. Katherine Hayles, 1999: 3 [24]
SECTION THREE ELECTRIC EXISTENCE
HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE
If we desire escape from the human body... Fig 11a. Thought
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HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE
Fig 11b. Thought / Data Assimilation
How far is the human race from complete assimilation into technological space?
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HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE Kevin Warwick describes how he sent
Attempts of human- data assimilation
his brain patterns “across the internet”
can be traced back to the nineteenth
to another continent to control a robotic
century. In 1863, Étienne-Jules Marey
hand, relaying information between the
demonstrated translation of the body
[25]
hand and his central nervous system.
into data through machines like the sphygmograph—
which
“recorded
Essentially, the conscience is transformed
the arterial pulse waves on to smoked
into data and implanted into an object.
paper” (Toulalan & Fisher, 2013: 116). [27]
How does this object affect legal narratives? To contextualise, murder is
Following this was the Bertillon System
defined as the “unlawful premeditated
in 1879, which segmented, classified
killing
by
and inducted the body into the archive,
An object therefore, cannot
reducing everyone to a uniform state of
commit murder; suggesting that escape
digits and measurements.[28] This practice
from our bodies also facilitates escape
of “personal reductionism”(Lanier, 2010:
from the legal system.
48)[29] [representing real life through
of [26]
another.”
one
human
being
Fig 11c. Thought / Object Assimilation
database entries] has been permeated This blurring of legal lines presents
by the the 21st Century; consider how
aninteresting legal pivot; either the law
much information is gathered, monitored
would have to expand to incorporate
and stored about your physiology and
the multiplicity of possible sentient
psychology through medical records,
objects, or these objects would need
work and pension databases, internet
to be bestowed human rights (when
browsing
carrying human consciousness).
shopping history becomes quite telling!
history
e.t.c.
Even
your
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On personal reduction, Jaron Lanier writes;
“ Most people are aware of the difference between reality and database
entries when they file taxes. But the order is reversed when you perform the same kind of self-reduction in order to create a profile on a social
”
networking site.
- Lanier, 2010: 49 [30]
As previously discussed, our desire to
Interrogation of religion through technology
preserve ourselves in the hertzian space
offers fascinating critique of traditional
results in near complete induction into social
culture. Brooker rationalises the afterlife
networks. Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror:
into technological components; the soul
Be Right Back explores the possibility of a
becomes a profile, text messaging is the
technological device accurately replicating
contemporary ouija board and instead of
the thought patterns of a dead person based
going to heaven, we exist as electromagnetic
on their social media profiles, critiquing the
radiation.
degree of trust we place in social media and other online platforms.[31] Beginning as a
Technology is redefining the afterlife; through
typical personal reduction, the reversal that
adding a realm of materiality, speculative
Lanier describes is soon exhibited, until the
possibilities of interaction with the dead are
lead character neglects the fact that she is
opened up— allowing life to exist without a
conversing with a machine.
biological body. Fig. 12 Black Mirror: Be Right Back 27
POSTHUMAN INTERVENTION ANALYSIS #2
SECTION FOUR AFTERLIFE
HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE
As we move towards a more technologically mediated culture, Jimmy Loizeau’s Afterlife project proposes an alternative— akin to cryonic freezing— to the spiritual afterlife, and challenges the traditions surrounding it. Fig. 13a Afterlife Coffin
When someone dies, the chemicals in the body of the deceased would be harnessed and used to charge an After-life battery. Your life force (inside the battery) can then be used to power certain objects. This project uses Fig. 13b Afterlife Coffin Schematic
technology to authenticate life after death; the ceramic urn replaced by a fully functional battery containing the life of the deceased.[32]
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HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE The afterlife is translated into materiality through this project, bridging human and hertzian space. Transferring the essence of a person into an object allows them to reenter the material world after death, as opposed to leaving it according to traditional beliefs.
suppose the question is… how do people “ Ire-manifest themselves from our wondrous biological state? ”
Similarly to Black Mirror: Be Right Back, this project
- Loizeau, 2012 [33]
speculates
about
post-biological
self-representation.
Whereas the former uses social media activity to definitively profile an individual, After-life provides another example of how technology can curate our lives. The ceramic urn is purely decorative in terms of expression and function; despite being in the same room as the living, it seems to remove the deceased from the active space. To be technologically implanted into an object redefines it; the object becomes a medium of crafting the afterlife as a narrative in the material world, which can be experienced alongside loved ones. Even when we’re dead, objects still have power over us; consider having to choose one particular object/ function to embody you and your
Fig. 14 Engraved Afterlife Battery
previous life. What would you choose? Would you create something new? 31
HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE
Objects are “the structures by which you connect to the world and other people”(Lanier, 2010: 7).[34] Therefore it is though objects— and their constructed narratives— that we define these connections. Phase two of the Afterlife project saw designers submit proposals of their own afterlife narratives, many carried out through the design of new objects. Noam Toran’s object asks his family to “stare at 3 illuminated bulbs in a small case” until it dies out (Toran, 2012), making the afterlife a shared experience.[35] Objects such as this use design to confront existing experience; blurring reality and fictional space to generate narratives that exist somewhere between the biological human and disembodied posthuman.
Fig. 15 No Hard Feelings
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HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE
Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby’s contribution to this project— a euthanasia machine utilising the energy of one of them to end the life of the other— is of particular interest;
not sure if it would be a form of “ I’m conceptual murder or not, but definitely an ‘assisted’ suicide. ” - Dunne & Raby, 2009
[36]
This romanticised object and it’s narrative challenge the existing legal structures surrounding death, and the role of objects within these contexts. How does the posthuman object behave in this narrative? Is this object (imbued with a human element) capable of murder, especially if— in this case— it’s a consensual act? Or if it is suicide, does the euthanasia machine take the role of paraphernalia— like the noose— or accomplice in an illegal act?
Fig. 16 Euthanasia Machine 33
HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE
Posthumanism challenges the current biological state of humanity, and is shaping our understanding of how our species will evolve. Through exposing the limitations of the human body, several speculative pathways are opened
Conclusion
up each depicting how, as Mirandola suggested, humanity can transform itself and assume greater forms. Historically, posthumanism located itself within human identity and ambition, exhibited by Bertillon and Marey’s body/ data inductions and America’s quest to gain superiority through weaponisation. Through contemporary culture it has been relocated; projects such as Afterlife and Instagram reconfigure posthumanism as a tool for realising desires and fantasies. However, the posthuman constant has always been it’s manifestation through technology. Through my approach, I have shown how the objects we own, the many records and social media profiles that document us, and the multitude of fiction (books, film, television) not only provide evidence of this relocation, but also demonstrate that the landscape of contemporary culture is interwoven with these speculative posthuman pathways. 34
HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE As we move ever closer to, what Katherine Hayles describes as Moravec’s and Minsky’s “metanarrative about the transformation of the human into a disembodied posthuman” there is a need for us to “be skeptical”(Hayles, 1999: 22)[37], as this metanarrative heralds a shift towards abstraction, and away from material reality. In the world of the disembodied posthuman, Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man holds no significance; the solution to ‘squaring the circle’ transforms into a string of coded integers, not a metaphorical image.
However the abstracted coded integers lack any kind of narrative— and it is this which draws distinction between the abstract and the material. As we grow more confident in exploring and interacting with ‘other spaces’ and developing new technologies, the power of narrative to ground us outside of the abstracted and critically interrogate these locations mustn’t be neglected. The rise of posthumanism demands that mankind fundamentally reflect on the role of material culture. In a world ready to divert into disembodied abstraction, the need to reinforce materiality has never been more apparent. It requires objects to be produced which defy the grain of being desirable and benefitting consumerism, in favour of altering the interactions which connect us with the world; vehicles opening the space of discussion on various biological, political, legal and religious issues. The existential nature of design positions it perfectly within this system to do just that; it’s intrinsic interplay with human behaviour shapes the development of materiality, and our relationship with posthumanism. 35
HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE
Bibliography [1] Numberphile (2013) Squaring the Circle- Numberphile [online] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMP9a2J4Bqw (Accessed 2nd January 2015) [2] Earle, J. (2013). Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man of Math [online]. http:// ed.ted.com/lessons/da-vinci-s-vitruvian-man-of-math-jamesearle#watch (Accessed 2nd January 2015) [3], [4] Pico della Mirandola, G. (1496) Oration on the Dignity of Man. Translated by Caponigri, A. (1956) Chicago: Henry Regenery Company. [5], [24], [37] Katherine Hayles, N. (1999). How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature and Informatics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [6], [22] McLuhan, M & Fiore, Q. (1967). The Medium is the Massage. Reprinted in 2001. California: Gingko Press [7], [8], [23] Dunne, A. & Raby, F. (2001). Design Noir: The Secret Life of Electronic Objects. Basel: Birkhäuser [9] Marvel Entertainment. Iron Man [online] http://marvel.com/ characters/29/iron_man (Accessed 3rd January 2015) [10] Byrne, J. (1991). Iron Man Vol. 1 #275 Dragon Doom. United States: Marvel Comics.
[11] Iron Man (2008). Motion Picture, dir: Jon Favreau, USA: Paramount Pictures. [12] John Swift (2009) The Soviet-American Arms Race [online] http:// www.historytoday.com/john-swift/soviet-american-arms-race (Accessed 3rd January 2015) [13] Ojserkis, R. (2003). Beginnings of the Cold War Arms Race: The Truman Administration and the U.S. Arms Build-up. Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. [14] Bimber, B. (1990). Karl Marx and the Three Faces of Technological Determinism. [online] http://web.mit.edu/sts/pubs/pdfs/MIT_STS_WorkingPaper_11_ Bimber_2.pdf (Accessed 4th January 2015) [15] Dunne, A. (1999). Hertzian Tales. London: Royal College of Art CRD Research. [16], [20] English, D. (2012). Stillness in Time. [online] http://blog.leicacamera.com/photographers/guest-blog-posts/david-english-stillness-intime/ (Accessed 3rd January 2012) [17] Alzheimer’s Society. Types of Dementia [online] http://alzheimers. org.uk/Facts_about_dementia/What_is_dementia (Accessed 3rd January 2015) 36
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Bibliography (cont.) [18] Nikon Corporation, (2013). Nikon Corporation Annual report [online].http://www.nikon.com/about/ir/ir_library/ar/pdf/ ar2013/13annual_e.pdf (Accessed 4th January 2015) [19] Business insider (2013). About 880 Billion Photographs Will Be Taken In 2014 [online] http://www.businessinsider.com/selfies-and-2013-201312?IR=T (Accessed 4th January 2015)
[28] National Law Enforcement Museum Insider, (2011) Bertillon System of Criminal Identification [online] http://www.nleomf.org/museum/news/ newsletters/online-insider/november-2011/bertillon-system-criminalidentification.html (Accessed 5th January 2015) [29], [30], [34] Lanier, J (2010) You are Not A Gadget: A Manifesto. New York: Random House, Inc.
[21] The Virtual Revolution, Episode 3 (2010) [TV Programme] BBC, BBC2, 13th February 2010.
[31] Black Mirror: Be Right Back (2013) [TV Programme] Zeppotron, Channel 4, 11th February 2013.
[25] Warwick, K. (2012) More than Human: Kevin Warwick [online] http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxWarwick-Kevin-Warwick-Impla (Accessed 5th January 2015)
[32], [35], [36] Auger Loizeau (2009) Afterlife [online] http://www.augerloizeau.com/index.php?id=9 (Accessed 7th January 2015)
[26] http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/murder (Accessed 5th January 2015)
[33] Auger, J. & Loizeau, J. (2012) James Auger & Jimmy Loizeau: Speculative Futures and Alternative Presents [online] http://vimeo. com/36335916 (Accessed 6th January 2015)
[27] Toulalan, S. & Fisher, K. ed.(2013) The Routledge History of Sex and the Body, 1500 to the Present. London: Routledge
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Illustration List [Figure 1] Edgson, M. (2015) Squaring the Circle, Digital Illustration.
[Figure 9] Edgson, M. (2015) Brain Backup, Pen and Ink/ Photography
[Figure 2] Leonardo Da Vinci (1490) The Vitruvian Man [image online] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2094647/Leonardo-da-VincisVitruvian-Man-copied-Giacomo-Andrea-da-Ferrara.html (Accessed 8th January 2015)
[Figure 10] Edgson, M. (2015) Social Afterlife, Pen and Ink Illustration.
[Figure 3] Edgson, M. (2015) The Great Chain of Being, Pen and Ink/ Digital Illustration.
[Figure 12] Black Mirror: Be Right Back (2013) [TV Programme] Zeppotron, Channel 4, 11th February 2013.
[Figure 4] Edgson, M. (2015) Hertzian Mouths, Pen and Ink/ Digital Illustration. [Figure 5] Marvel Comics, Iron Man [image online] http://www. comicvine.com/forums/gen-discussion-1/has-iron-man-everaccidentally-killed-anyone-in-hi-1551660/ (Accessed 8th January 2015)
[Figure 13] Auger Loizeau (2009) Afterlife Coffin & Afterlife Coffin Schematic [image online] http://www.auger-loizeau.com/index.php?id=9 (Accessed 8th January 2015)
[Figure 6] Edgson, M. (2015) I am Iron Man... Sh*t, Pen and Ink Illustration. [Figure 7] Edgson, M. (2015) Nuclear War, Pen and Ink Illustration. [Figure 8] Edgson, M. (2015) The Eye & the Camera, Pen and Ink Illustration.
[Figure 11] Edgson, M. (2015) Thought & Thought/ Data Assimilation & Though/ Object Assimilation, Pen and Ink/ Digital Illustration.
[Figure 14] Auger Loizeau (2009) Engraved Afterlife Battery [image online] http://www.auger-loizeau.com/index.php?id=9 (Accessed 8th January 2015) [15] Noam Toran (2009) No Hard Feelings [image online] http://www. auger-loizeau.com/index.php?id=9 (Accessed 8th January 2015) [Figure 16] Anthony Dunne & Fiona Raby (2009) Euthanasia Machine [image online] http://www.auger-loizeau.com/index.php?id=9 (Accessed 8th January 2015)
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HUMAN BODY // TECHNOLOGY // AFTERLIFE POSTHUMANISM & THE NATURAL // CULTURAL BINARY