Resurrecting the ‘body’
Vera Borrmann, Christopher Coenen, Luisa Gerstgrasser, Eva Albers, Oliver J. Müller, Philipp Kellmeyer
June 12, 2023 DOI: 10.4324/9781003105596-9 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Citations | 3 |
| Key points | Argues that phenomenology offers a distinctive and necessary perspective on embodiment, and that it can supply essential questions for philosophical and interdisciplinary discussions of human enhancement and transhumanist conceptions of the body. |
Abstract
This chapter discusses a phenomenological perspective on embodiment and its relation to human enhancement, as well as perspectives on trans- and posthumanist understandings of corporeality. The chapter first outlines the fundamental conceptual understandings of “embodiment” in philosophical and interdisciplinary research, its historical roots in Western thought, and thus enables a deeper understanding of the meaning of embodiment with regard to discourses on human enhancement. Then, contemporary approaches such as postphenomenology, feminist positions, and intercultural points of view on embodiment are integrated. Toward the end, embodiment is discussed in relation to applied phenomenology and neurophenomenology in the context of cognitive science, psychiatry, neuroscience, and 4E cognition. With regards to current technoscientific visions, especially transhumanist notions of embodiment through the lens of technology assessment, it becomes clear that phenomenology has a special role to play when discussing human enhancement from a philosophical and interdisciplinary perspective, as phenomenology can provide essential questions when exploring the topic of embodiment.