How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics by N. Katherine HaylesMy rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
The strengths of this book come from its three guiding questions (or stories) on virtual reality: 1) how information lost its body, or how it became a separate entity from the material in which it's embedded, 2) how the cyborg was created and how it became a "technological artifact and cultural icon" after World War II, and 3) how the "historically constructed" idea of the human is influenced by a different construction called the posthuman. These are A+ questions.
Hayles' narrative pivots on the first story above; she suggests that human consciousness is actually separate from humans. Basically, it might be possible to put human consciousness into a corporeal form that's not a human body. The age-old theme of human mind versus body isn't new, but it's complicated by the digital age because we may be able to test it by inserting human consciousness into computers. This begs the questions: should we? and to what extent is consciousness affected by our physical construction?
Hayles buoys up her narrative with painstaking history, attention to detail, and quality connections. 3.5/5 stars.
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This stuff is fascinating to me and I like to view it through a religious lens. Should we insert human consciousness into computers? I wanted to see if the church had any statements on this and I only researched a tiny bit but I found this about cloning and I think it is relevant: http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/29574/Ethics-morality-part-of-health-care.html especially this part, "Each person is born with a unique personal and spiritual identity from a premortal life in the presence of a loving God. Those who tamper with the sacred powers of creation stand accountable before Him." Is their a difference between human consciousness and spiritual identity? I don't think so but I haven't researched it that much.
ReplyDeleteI think that to answer your last question I would research how the consciousness of people with hi-tech prosthesis has been affected.