Posthumanism and the enlightenment

Abstract

Posthumanists of different stripes often view the Enlightenment as the pinnacle of humanist thought and use it as a negative foil to profile their posthumanist contentions. This chapter follows current research trends that paint a more complex picture of the relationship between the Enlightenment and posthumanism. The chapter suggests that a closer examination of this relationship reveals that Enlightenment thinkers and scientists prepared the terrain for critical posthumanism. To make the argument, the chapter first delineates more clearly the Enlightenment from humanism by juxtaposing the former's critical impetus to the normative force of the latter. Subsequent sections examine specific instances where Enlightenment authors challenge central humanist conceits. The focus is on Immanuel Kant and the scientific, philosophical, and literary discourses that in the aftermath of Kant's philosophy advance early notions of what today we would call embodiment, rethink human agency, promote environmental awareness, and redraw the borders between humans and animals as well as between the organic and the inorganic. The chapter concludes with reflections on how the age best known for its idealism was also no stranger to contemporary materialist contentions, and might even be able to enlighten postphenomenological discussions of technology and cybernetic concerns about digitization.