From Hayles’ perspective above, we can see that humans have been participating in the hybridized world in which transhuman process has become more rapid. In other words, “transhuman condition is characterised by an admixture of elements that cannot be sorted out into their constitutive parts, ushering in a world of hybrids that can no longer be classified” (Halliwell and Mousley 191). There is an unbreakable bond between humans and the environment because they are affected by one another during constant interactions. These interactions result in flowing changes which challenge the concept of human nature. When defending liberal eugenics,11 Elizabeth Fenton points out some common assertions of moral judgment toward the natural and the unnatural. She argues that those who oppose to liberal eugenics tend to view
“moral status of human nature as something inviolable” and conclude that it “is under threat and must be protected” (Fenton 38). Most critics judge liberal eugenics or transhuman movement by drawing lines between what is natural and what is unnatural. However, there is no intrinsically moral good/bad judgment between the natural/unnatural. “No matter where the line is drawn between the natural and the manufactured, the moral rightness or wrongness of an activity will have to be grounded in something other than where it falls on this spectrum” (Fenton 40). She thus notes that the real threat is “to moralize the status of human nature and demand its protection” (Fenton 40). The problem of this moral judgment is that it is driven by the effort of trying to define human nature. Genetic engineering “does not violate the notion of a fixed human nature” because “science is revealing that human nature is not fixed and singular” (Fenton 41). To Fenton, human nature no longer possesses a fixed essence as the result of the changing environment and technology. “Advances in
11 “Liberal eugenics is eugenic[s] to the extent that it advocates parental freedom to choose some characteristics of offspring based on the parents’ values but limited by the possibility of harm to the resulting children” (Fenton 36).
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genetic technology make possible different conditions for ‘what it means to be human’” (Fenton 41).
Only through participating in nature can humans realize the flexibility of being a human. In other words, human beings have constantly “rediscovered human nature”
during the process of socialization (Only Human 220). According to Jacques Lacan, the interaction between the inner mind and the outer world starts as early as the mirror-stage.12 The process of constituting a self through subjectification is discussed by Giorgio Agamben. The subjectification forces humans to move from zoe to bios13 and makes us inseparable from the environment. Therefore, it is the constant
exchanges with the environment that make us human.
Critics examine transhumanism employing different theoretical concepts and perspectives. Technological advancement becomes a double-edged sword that causes controversy. However, we should see transhumanism as a process of evolving (not entirely for the greater but for the fitter). Human needs drive us to create things that may be helpful or to change behaviors that may be suitable. Therefore, we can gradually develop new skills and eliminate useless traits that are no longer adaptable in order to face the changing environment. Humans evolve with time and the change is constant due to cultural blending and self-realization. In Only Human, people from different times share customs and behaviors that are initially unfamiliar. They can pick up useful skills and drop off inadaptable ones. For example, Das finds out that humans no longer need to hunt animals for food because they are now occupied by other activities. Although he feels odd about the change, he embraces the fact that
12Lacan has regarded “the function of the mirror-stage as a particular case of the function of the imago, which is to establish a relation between the organism and its reality—or, as they say, between the Innenwelt [inner world] and the Umwelt [outer world]” (1166).
13Agamben explains that zoe is the nature form of life while bios is the political existence (form of life.) As soon as humans enter the sovereignty (control of the laws) of the society, they are no longer living animals. The relations with the world make human beings enter the realm of biopolitics.
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humans use the spare time to create more delicious food (Only Human 72). This realization drives Das to explore more differences and choose what is best for him (Only Human 95-98). Since human nature is no longer fixed, human conditions have become more flexible and fluid. In this thesis, this flexibility found in humans is recognized as “human fluidity”. It means that the nature of humanity is always in a liquid state that is ready to change. These human values “are open to change and improvement” because humans possess the “most cherished freedom—the freedom to evolve” (Fenton 42). The essence of human beings is torn apart during the ever-lasting exchange with the environment. “Nothing keeps its own form, and Nature, the renewer of things, refreshes one shape from another” (Ovid).
When discussing transhumanism, Jensen is opposed to the concept of treating human nature as a “disembodied intelligence” which can be transferred from a body to a machine (Jensen 525). Rather, he states that “we are seeking not a solitary good but a shared good… that is shared between himself and others” (Jensen 523).
Although he is right about the shared bond between self and others, he still over-praises the inviolability of nature in regard to transhuman invasion. Such concerns are also raised by Mark Sagoff who believes that natural heritage is gradually replaced by technological infiltration. Although Sagoff’s attitude toward genetic engineering is ambivalent, he still views human nature as something that needs to be protected. He notes: “The more deeply technology penetrates nature and ‘conquers’ it, the stronger efforts become to preserve what remains of our evolutionary and ecological heritage”
(Sagoff 74). He also fears that genetic engineering can become forceful and decisive once we use it to achieve personal contentment. He says: “The more control we have, the more the genome becomes a matter of intention and choice” (Sagoff 90).
Similarly, Jensen emphasizes that the intention to use technology to choose for the better is “overbearing” (Jensen 539). However, technology is created within nature
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and its functions are based on nature orders. Human beings always try to accomplish their needs by using different kinds of assistance that contain natural elements. Thus, it is hard to distinguish what is natural from what is unnatural.
Most critical examinations focus on how Doctor Who is socially connected and how the transhuman process is presented. However, the merging relationship between humans and technology is not the only aspect to approach transhumanism. This thesis seeks to examine transhumanism as a fluid idea rooted in human history.
Transhumanism is not just the interchanging process between human beings and posthuman condition. It may expand to represent all possible conditions and changes during human evolution because the inseparable partnership between humans and the nature.
Human fluidity is presented in three distinct ways in the novel. The first one is the narrative structure which shows the diverse perspectives of different people from different times and spaces. The second one is the blending tribes which show the flexibility and changeability of human nature. The third one is the manipulation and metamorphosis of human bodies. The fluidity within humans is a multi-directional transformation which can be seen in any part of human history. The posthuman future is not only the world where human beings are immerged with machine and
technology as transhumanists expect. Humans can evolve and acquire knowledge from the past and the future in order to become fitter with the environment. The idea of evolution is expanded multi-directionally in Only Human. That is, every element in the environment can cause changes that aim for the compatible. We might not become a super-intellectual being like some transhumanists envision. The fluidity may leads us to a place where everyone can live harmonically with the environment. The
meaning of what makes us human changes through the exploration of human fluidity.
Upon closer examination of the novel, it challenges our concepts of human nature and
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立 政 治 大 學
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explores all possibilities of human past, present and future.
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立 政 治 大 學
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N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
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Chapter Four Time and Space:
Narrative Structure and the Fluidity of Human Nature
In the previous chapter, we have discussed how our perception of human nature is changing constantly due to our intimate relationship with the world. The idea of humanity and the meaning of what makes us human are being challenged and this awareness results in human fluidity. Human fluidity presents an ambiguous and fluid state when human nature is no longer fixed and determined. By keeping records, humans can acquire knowledge from collective memories and learn to adjust themselves using these experiences. Gareth Roberts uses diary entries, journals and data-records to show the uniqueness of human beings—the ability to create and preserve. Only Human presents a hybrid world where different groups and tribes attempt to communicate with one another although they might have diverse
perspectives. In order to show the fluidity of what makes us human, we first have to look at the structure of the story which creates a channel which includes different perspectives and diverse groups. The chapter arrangement of the story breaks the boundaries of time and space by using a nonlinear storytelling. Gareth Roberts makes an effort to showcase multiple sides of the characters and makes their minds more fluid when facing situations. From these various perspectives, we can have better understanding of the differences and the outcomes of these interactions. In Only
Human, there are two constructs that help the story to create the sense of hybridity
and fluidity—narrative structure and diverse tribes.The constant interactions of these diverse groups will eventually lead to a
melting pot at the end of the story. Through cultural blending, everyone is seeking his