Futures of the Human Subject: Technical Mediation, Foucault and Science Fiction PDF
Preview Futures of the Human Subject: Technical Mediation, Foucault and Science Fiction
“What can science fiction teach us about our constantly changing relationship with technology? At a time in which our views and assumptions are challenged by dazzling discoveries and inspiring innovations on a daily basis, this book combines literary criticism and philosophical insights to interpret the brave new world around us.” Detlef Wagenaar, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands Futures of the Human Subject Futures of the Human Subject focuses on the representation of the effects of technology use on human subjectivity in several recent near-future science fiction novels. Sharing the idea that human subjects are constructed in the world in which they exist, this volume inscribes itself in the wider field of posthumanism which contests the liberal humanist notion of people as self-contained, autono mous agents. At the same time, it is the first substantial study of literary repre sentations of the human subject carried out within the conceptual framework of Foucault-inflected philosophy of technical mediation, which examines the nature of the relation between people and specific technologies as well as the way in which this relation affects human subjectivity. As such, the book may help readers to exercise more effective control over the way in which they are constituted as subjects in this technologically saturated world. Sławomir Kozioł is an assistant professor at the University of Rzeszów, Poland. His academic interests include science fiction, posthumanism, theories of the human subject, philosophy of technical mediation, social space and new-media art. He has published articles in Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction, Extrapolation, Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies, Papers on Language and Literature and Science Fiction Studies, among others. Perspectives on the Non-Human in Literature and Culture Series Editor: Karen Raber, University of Mississippi, USA Literary and cultural criticism has ventured into a brave new world in recent decades: posthumanism, ecocriticism, critical animal studies, the new materi alisms, the new vitalism, and other related approaches have transformed the critical environment, reinvigorating our encounters with familiar texts, and inviting us to take note of new or neglected ones. A vast array of non-human creatures, things, and forces are now emerging as important agents in their own right. Inspired by human concern for an ailing planet, ecocriticism has grappled with the question of how important works of art can be to the preservation of somethingwehavetraditionally called “nature.” Yet literature’s capacity to take us on unexpected journeys through the networks of affiliation and affinity we share with the earth on which we dwell—and without which we die—and to confront us with the drama of our common struggle to survive and thrive has not diminished in the face of what Lyn White Jr. called “our ecological crisis.” From animals to androids, non-human creatures and objects populate critical analyses in increasingly complex ways, complicating our conception of the cosmos by dethroning the individual subject and dismantling the comfortable categories through which we have interpreted our existence. Until now, how ever, the elements that compose this wave of scholarship on non-human entities have had limited places to gather to be nurtured as a collective project. “Per spectives on the Non-Human in Literature and Culture” provides that local habitation. In this series, readers will find creatures of all descriptions, as well as every other form of biological life; they will also meet the non-biological, the microscopic, the ethereal, the intangible. It is our goal for the series to provide an encounter zone where all forms of human engagement with the non-human in all periods and national literatures can be explored, and where the discoveries that result can speak to one another, as well as to scholars and students. Entangled Fictions Nonhuman Animals in an Indian World Suvadip Sinha Futures of the Human Subject Technical Mediation, Foucault and Science Fiction Sławomir Kozioł Representing Post(Human) Enhancement Technologies in Twenty-First Century US Fiction Carmen Laguarta-Bueno For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/ Perspectives-on-the-Non-Human-in-Literature-and-Culture/book-series/PNHLC Futures of the Human Subject Technical Mediation, Foucault and Science Fiction ł ł S awomir Kozio First published 2023 by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 and by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Sławomir Kozioł The right of Sławomir Kozioł to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Kozioł,Sławomir (Philologist), author. Title: Futures of the human subject : technical mediation, Foucault and science fiction / Sławomir Kozioł. Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2023. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2022009655 (print) | LCCN 2022009656 (ebook) | ISBN 9780367762995 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032324227 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003166320 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Science fiction--History and criticism. | Technology in literature. | Human beings in literature. | LCGFT: Literary criticism. Classification: LCC PN3433.6 .K69 2023 (print) | LCC PN3433.6 (ebook) | DDC 813/.087620906--dc23/eng/20220518 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022009655 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022009656 ISBN: 978-0-367-76299-5 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-32422-7 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-16632-0 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003166320 Typeset in Sabon by Taylor & Francis Books For Ewa Contents Acknowledgements xi Copyright Permissions xii Introduction 1 1 Technical Mediation, Subjectivity and Science Fiction 11 Early Philosophy of Technology and Utopia/Dystopia Syndrome 12 Empirical Turn 14 Posthuman Perspective 16 Philosophy of Technical Mediation—Key Concepts 18 Technical Mediation and Foucault 24 Modes of Human–Technology Interaction 27 Ethics of Technology 36 Science Fiction 39 2 The Circle: Embracing Social Media and Personal Transparency 70 Utopian Vision of ICTs as Subjectifying Discourse 71 Self-Conception, Social Self and the Internet as Archive 75 Subjectifying Power of the Algorithm 79 Pressure for Social Media Activity 83 Gamification and the Quantified Self 90 Surveillance and Personal Transparency 99 3 Rainbows End: New Vistas Through Displays in Contacts 116 New Life After Alzheimer’s 117 Materiality of Discourse 119 Wearing: The Physical Mode 122 Cognitive Enhancement 125
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