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ISSN 1932-1066
Abstract: "Posthuman" has become an umbrella term to refer to a variety of different movements and schools of thought,
including philosophical, cultural, and critical posthumanism; transhumanism (in its variations of extropianism, liberal
and democratic transhumanism, among others); the feminist approach of new materialisms; the heterogeneous
landscape of antihumanism, metahumanism, metahumanities, and posthumanities. Such a generic and all-inclusive
use of the term has created methodological and theoretical confusion between experts and non-experts alike. This essay
will explore the differences between these movements, focusing in particular on the areas of signification shared by
posthumanism and transhumanism. In presenting these two independent, yet related philosophies, posthumanism
may prove a more comprehensive standpoint to reflect upon possible futures.
Keywords: Posthumanism; transhumanism; antihumanism; metahumanism; new materialism; technology; future;
posthuman; transhuman; Cyborg.
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Introduction
In contemporary academic debate, "posthuman" has
become a key term to cope with an urgency for the
integral redefinition of the notion of the human,
following the onto-epistemological as well as scientific
and bio-technological developments of the twentieth
and twenty-first centuries. The philosophical landscape,
which has since developed, includes several movements
and schools of thought. The label "posthuman" is often
evoked in a generic and all-inclusive way, to indicate any
of these different perspectives, creating methodological
and theoretical confusion between experts and nonexperts alike. "Posthuman" has become an umbrella
term to include (philosophical, cultural, and critical)
posthumanism, transhumanism (in its variants as
Francesca Ferrando, "Posthumanism, Transhumanism, Antihumanism, Metahumanism, and New Materialisms: Differences and Relations,"
Existenz 8/2 (2013), 26-32
First posted 3-4-2014, rev. 3-13-2014
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