How we became Posthuman. Virtual bodies in cybernetics, literature, and informatics – Katherine Hayles (3.8🌟)

How we became Posthuman looks into the history of the science of Cybernetics to explore how the idea/concept of (post)human (as in classic liberal thinking) has evolved. Cybernetics looked to create machines using what we know of humans and biological organisms. For that it modelled the human mind, consciousness, senses and behaviour. Other concepts such as decision making, judgement also had to be considered. Since the late 1940s scientists of different fields worked together to develop theories which we could use to create machines to do our work. Several schools of thoughts developed with different ideas of how machines could be built but most importantly with different conceptualisations of the human being. This is important because all this work depends on what and how we think humans are. Are we our bodies or our consciousness? Are we information only? As in our DNA? As in our thoughts, language, communications?

I found the following excerpt useful at the start of the book (p2-3)   "First, the Posthuman view privileges informational pattern over material instantiation, so that embodiment in a biological substrate is seen as an accident of history rather than an inevitability of life. Second, the Posthuman view considers consciousness, regarded as the seat of human identity in the western tradition long before Descartes  thought he was a mind thinking, as an epiphenomenon,  as an evolutionary upstart trying to claim that it is the whole show when in actuality it is only a minor sideshow. Third, the Posthuman view thinks of the body as the original prostheses we all learn to manipulate, so that extending or replacing the body with other prostheses becomes a continuation of a process that began before we were born. Fourth and most important, by these and other means, the Posthuman view configures human being so that it can be seamlessly articulated with intelligent machines. In the Posthuman,  there are no essential differences or absolute  demarcations between bodily existence and computer simulation, cybernetic mechanism and biological organism, robot teleology and human goals." I kept coming to this every time I got confused.

This was not an easy book to read especially because I was not familiar with Cybernetics and its concepts. I was not familiar either with other philosophical discussions such as liberal humanism and liberal subject, as well as semiotics but I think I have learned a lot. At least I marked all the ideas I thought important and interesting (which is most of the book). Ideas I want to revisit in the future when I read more about the topic. The writing is dense and almost every paragraph is charged with philosophical or scientific concepts I had to stop and look in the dictionary all the time.

The author discusses the life and ideas of some big names in Cybernetics, such as Weiner, McCulloch and Maturana. I liked her approach at relating crucial events in the (personal) lives of the scientists to explain why and how their thinking was framed. She also relates stories about the Macy conferences which run for several years and which are the foundation for modern developments.

Hayles also takes her time discussing concepts such as homeostasis and autopoiesis, reflexivity and virtuality. Before this book I would not have been able to connect these concepts together but now I can see an evolution there, an evolution which takes us to current work on artificial intelligence and artificial life. Unfortunately, I am not knowledgeable enough and articulate in this field to try and explain these and others myself. Hayles discusses them so much in depth I think I can only grab the surface. There were other concepts I thought I could manage better until I read about all their dimensions and interconnections. For example the concept of “embodiment” which Hayles takes almost a chapter to explain. A chapter titled The Materiality of Informatics, in which she talks about Foucault! Embodiment, body, inscription, incorporation, materiality, bodily experiences… I think I didn’t understand much but I can always reread this when I learn more.

Finally, what made the book more enjoyable were the author’s discussions of science fiction literary work. I might be unfair saying only enjoyable so I would add informative and illustrative. Hayles relates the stories in these novels, sometimes with spoilers, and then connects the ideas in the plot, or character construction, etc to cybernetic concepts previously discussed. Thanks to this I now have a few books added to my wishlist: Simulacra by Philip K Dick and Galatea 2.2 by Richard Powers.

My edition was published in 1999 by The University of Chicago Press. It has 291 pages of content and 350 pages including notes and index.