Posthumans... Or Are We Dancers?

Posthumanism in literature relates to our environmental crisis through conversations encompassing the fate of humanity and its impacts on our planet. Environmental themes such as the relationship between humans and our planet, negative impacts of humanity on the environment, and a celebration and wonderment of ecology connect the environment to my major through literature. But this still left me wondering what the bigger connection was. How does literature really relate to the environment? How does literature effect environmental justice? How does environmental justice influence literature?

Posthumanism is a term that means after humans or beyond humans. If we consider the connotations of beyond humans, maybe posthumanism brings forth a concept beyond ourselves. The theme takes you out of humanism and into a nuanced, more plausible realm that takes you beyond yourself and perhaps even beyond the body. This concept in literature correlates with a Buddhist approach as well; the body is a distraction, it is not sustainable (Ibn Tufayl, 87). The idea is simply a way of viewing the world; it is similar to humanism that takes a stance with science instead of religion when looking at our world (Wikipedia Posthumanism). According to a Credo Reference article on posthumanism in The Encyclopedia of Literary and Cultural Theory, the term is an archetype that can actually be defined as a progression of humanism. Unlike posthumanism, the anthropogenic impression of humanism places “man” at the center of all things; René Descartes explains this in his seventeenth-century writings (Badmington, 2011). This theme is most likely where our society began to run into environmental problems; when one thinks that he or she is above all else, it can only lead to supreme care for those below them or the destruction, both physical and emotional, of other sentient beings around them – including our planet. Emerging from the “theoretical and practical inadequacy” along with the instability of humanism, contrastingly, posthumanism recognizes that “man” is the same as animal and machine and should be held to no higher status. (For the sake of our planet we cannot afford to hold ourselves to a higher status). This theme also differs from the notion of antihumanism. Antihumanists view the concept of “man” as needing to be demolished and left behind, whereas posthumanists view “man” as already falling behind.

This brings me to my next point: posthumanistic views represent humanity as already falling behind or, quite simply put, becoming unsustainable. This relates to the diminishing state of our reproductive environment; we are using up materials and resources faster than our planet and ourselves can replace them. This positive feedback loop has become the unmaintainable truth that our world is currently experiencing. In an article, “Rethinking Sustainability on Planet Earth: A Time for New Framings” by Arielle Dylan, she discusses how, as a human society, we are situated in a humanist tradition and, due to this way of thinking, have anthropogenically warranted a different, more precipitous course in global climate change for the worse. “This [humanistic] conceptualization forms part of a dangerous anthropocentrism that today is linked with "contempocentrism" that has us blinkered to our interdependence with other species, and befuddled by a presentist lens that sequesters us from past lessons and blinds us to future catastrophes.” (Dylan, 2012). She also states that humankind is a natural part of our world, “…the human relationship with the natural world, of which humankind is a part despite our collective foray into biological amnesia…” Which leads us to posthumanism. Dylan’s findings bring up a curious inquiry concerning the posthumanistic theme: what will our planet be like if hominids are no longer here?

The “post” in posthumanism may suggest that the days of the human race are numbered said N. Katherine Hayles in her book How We Became Posthuman. “Humans can either go gently into that good night, joining the dinosaurs as a species that once ruled the earth but is now obsolete, or hang on for a while longer by becoming machines themselves.” (Hayles, 1999). Perhaps the age of the human is coming to a close? Remaining on this caustic course, the aftereffects from humanity upon our earth would be cataclysmic. Without our population what would the world’s environment be like? Would it be better off or worse off? Hayle’s insight helps to cultivate imaginings on whether or not our world would exist without humans. What would a posthuman world be like? Are we on the path to causing our own demise? Can humanity become sustainable?

Humanity’s unsustainable nature relates to the environment because it has a direct, negative impact on it. This, in turn, relates to literature because there are many inherent themes that correspond to what is happening to our planet. Posthumanism seems to explore that topic the most thoroughly. My inquiry now that literature and environment are proven to be closely related is: what is the most sustainable move for humanity next? To either succumb to a posthumanistic era as N. Katherine Hayles said, basically become machines ourselves, or to put up a fight, humanity will have to decide, and decide quickly.

#Posthuman #NKatherineHayles #Humanism #environmentaljustice