From Posthuman to Posthumous and Back
From Posthuman to Posthumous and Back

Summary/Abstract: In this paper, I will endeavor to deal with the issues of the modality and status of human beings and forms of ‘existence’ that may depart from our understanding of what is meant by the term ‘living’. In this process, I shall refer to the contemporary ‘post-human discourse’, and its various aspects and interpretations, which are employed as a means of redefining the human condition. By means of examples, I shall try to explore the fear of death and the human quest to extend life by various means. Posthumanism is the dominant idea of today, and the problem of posthumanism in this text is dealt with in a narrow ideological sense that advocates the abolition of human biological limitations, and in the broader sense, a policy of globalization that works less directly, but significantly more forcefully, through the change of forms of human behavior to achieve the same goal. Hence, new ways of avoiding ‘crossing over to the other side’, as well as old ways, are still being sought. Holograms, these digitally-generated 3-dimensional images have been used as a means of providing entertainment by generating a simulacrum of an artist to perform for an audience, regardless of whether the actual artist is still alive. Thus, biological mortality is conquered and the line between life and death is blurred.

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