1. Philosophical Underpinnings of Posthuman Reflections

non-dualistic way of thinking. Consequently, it is possible to stress that with this cultural shift, humanism in its traditional form is coming to an end. Here, I understand humanism as a world view which is founded upon a categorically dualistic ontology. This understanding is in tune with the etymology of the word “humanism” which comes from the Latin “humanitas”. This concept was central for Stoic thinking, and it implies a categorically dualistic ontology.

Given that the aforementioned reflections concerning the development of dualistic thinking are plausible, it needs to be realized that the development of Plato’ s philosophy has most probably been the central cornerstone for the foundation of Western culture as a dualistic culture. Sloterdijk (1999), who identifies the beginning of humanism with the age of Stoic philosophy, and Hassan (1977), who stresses the close connection between the beginning of the Enlightenment and the beginning of humanism, are correct in claiming that strong versions of dualisms can be found in the philosophies of the Stoics and of Descartes. However, it would certainly be highly implausible to disrespect the central importance of Plato’ s philosophy for this development.

As a consequence of the breaking together of humanism, several cultural movements have emerged that move beyond categorically dualistic ontologies today. Consequently, it seems appropriate to claim that we are moving beyond humanism into the age of the posthuman, whereby the posthuman as an open metaphor stands for a great variety of beyond humanism movements, like post( Hassan 1977), meta- ( Del Val/Sorgner 2011) and transhumanism ( Huxley 1951), in which the word “posthuman” comes up and which have in common that they doubt the ontological foundation of humanism. Still, it needs to be stressed that the goals, pedigrees and methodologies of the various movements differ significantly.

1. Philosophical Underpinnings of Posthuman Reflections

Posthuman philosophy is my shortcut for referring to a great diversity of contemporary approaches which have in common that they transcend humanism in one way or another. The fine distinctions between the various beyond humanism approaches are not fully being realized not only by the educated public, but also among established scholars. However, the differences, cultural backgrounds and ways of thinking are extremely manifold, which means that any critical philosophical engagement with them needs to clearly distinguish these approaches. However, all of them share certain characteristics which justifies that it is possible to use the shortcut posthuman philosophies for these approaches. The following three aspects are shared by all of these approaches:5

5 The following passages are based upon Sorgner 2020c.