Posthumanism invites us to embrace the plurality of being: I am they; we are they
The term “posthuman” may initially evoke unease. After all, human values, rights, and humanity have long been central in our struggles against the forces of greed and mechanization. The word “posthuman” suggests a movement beyond the human, hinting at something dystopian or even apocalyptic. However, posthumanism is a philosophical inquiry that challenges the centrality of humanity in the 21st century. It critiques anthropocentrism—our human-centric worldview—and deconstructs human identity in relation to others, to nature, and even to technology. Francesca Ferrando’s The Art of Being Posthuman is a helpful guide for unpacking this complex and sometimes unsettling concept. While it acknowledges dark possibilities, it also illuminates liberating and enlightening ones.
The question of identity
Like anyone, I’ve wrestled with the question of identity, beginning with my upbringing among Dutch immigrants and their religious worldview. It provided a sense of belonging and purpose. Family, faith, work, and politics were interwoven into a tightly bound system of identity. Over the decades, all of it frayed, challenged by the complexity of being.
Studying psychology introduced me to various theories of personality, all proposing ideas of a stable self and identity. As I delved deeper into economics and social justice, I learned how the systemic oppressions of sexism, racism, and classism impose identity on people to sustain capitalism.
Posthumanism challenges these oppressive frameworks by deconstructing identity. Ferrando writes, “Philosophical posthumanism reveals how the universalization of the notion of the human has benefited only some humans, sustaining the oppression of others.” Disidentifying with narrow definitions of “human” is key to dismantling these systems of power.
Resonance with Buddhism
I studied Buddhism and practiced meditation for several years. Posthumanism resonates with aspects of Buddhism, which teaches that the self is an illusion—the root cause of suffering. Buddhism posits that clinging to any limited identity leads to suffering, and meditation can help alleviate this by fostering focus, emotional balance, clarity, and insight. However, traditional Buddhism is burdened by ideas of reincarnation, a hierarchy of beings, and mystical notions of enlightenment requiring multiple lifetimes. Posthumanism, in contrast, is less encumbered. It extends the Buddhist deconstruction of self, reframing human identity into a broader ecological and technological existence, while avoiding mysticism.
Body, species, and animism
Am I my body, an individual organism with the genetic type of the human species? Biologically, a human is an ecosystem. As Ferrando reminds us: “Bodies are universes, with all the life they contain. They are multiverses; bodies within bodies, one and many, separated and united, inextricably intra-related, necessarily (hyper-)connected: biotic inter-being. Human bodies are made of the same quantity of microbial cells (including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and archaea) as ‘human’ cells, if not more.”
Homo sapiens are not superior to other species. Humans, as part of the Earth, are an ecology of beings. This perspective opens the door to animism—the belief that all things, from rocks to rivers, are alive. While often dismissed as primitive, animism offers a healthy lens for understanding and addressing the climate crisis.
Relationship with technology
Posthumanism also interrogates our relationship with technology. Traditional sentiocentric ethics, which extend dignity to beings capable of suffering or intelligence, still impose a hierarchy, privileging beings with human-like traits. Posthumanism rejects these limits, affirming the dignity of all entities—biotic and abiotic—without human-centered biases.
Are rocks alive? If aliens had visited Earth five billion years ago, they might have said there was nothing here but rocks. If they visited again today, they might think the rocks had evolved into complex life. Would they be wrong? Is evolution still occurring? From rocks come minerals like silicon from which computers are made. The tech giants fancy themselves inventors of AI, but perhaps intelligence is a cosmic ordering principle, using these corporations to express itself anew in AI. Ferrando’s work challenges us to think beyond binaries of superiority and inferiority, especially concerning artificial intelligence.
The tech giants fancy themselves inventors of AI, but perhaps intelligence is a cosmic ordering principle, using these corporations to express itself anew in AI.
Posthumanism views being as a continuation of natural processes: from rocks to microbes, from animals to AI. Quoting Martin Heidegger, technology is poiēsis—a creative act that reveals existence itself. Posthumanism liberates us from seeing technology as mere tools or potential threats. Instead, it envisions technological entities as partners in the existential flow. AI may not exist to serve us, nor will it necessarily seek dominion. It could, just as plausibly, serve the collective good of all earthlings—human and non-human alike.
Plurality: I am they
If “I” and “we” are not limited to being human, who are we? Posthumanism reminds us that identity is dynamic and relational. Humans are not fixed beings but fluid participants in a web of existence that encompasses individuals, societies, species, and the cosmos.
Ferrando writes, “Posthumanism, as a philosophy of the 21st century, approaches humans (in all of their diversities), non-human animals, technology, and ecology relationally.” This perspective transcends planetary crises and technological upheavals. It invites us to embrace the plurality of being: I am they; we are they.
Published on November 24, 2024
Updated on November 30, 2024