Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Science After Human
Posted by Charles Mudede on Wed, Nov 19, 2008 at 9:55 AM
The future is also here:
Surgeons in Spain have carried out the world's first tissue-engineered whole organ transplant - using a windpipe made with the patient's own stem cells.The groundbreaking technology also means for the first time tissue transplants can be carried out without the need for anti-rejection drugs.
Our whole understanding of what it means to be human needs to be transformed or completely trashed. We are changing at a terrific pace, but we do not know what will become of us tomorrow. What does it mean to have this kind of body? One that has spare parts like a car or computer has spare parts? How will we construct an ontology of the self out of spare parts? Latour says we have never been modern; if not now then soon will there be the possibility of saying we have never been human.
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2
So have you seen Repo! The Genetic Opera yet? It was in Seattle last week at the Admiral theatre- it is in limited release currently. The premise of the film would seem to be something you might enjoy. I did.
3
I think this is a question postmodern theorists have been working on for 10-20 years already (Katherine Hayles, Frege, Raschke, etc.).
6
I have always thought that we humans have been "engineering" ourselves for many millenia the way we've "engineered" domesticated animals. Whether consiously or not.
7
now that the election is over are you gonna go back to your parade of silly, hyper-pseudo-intellectual musings on stuff that's not that big a deal?
the lady got a new wind-pipe, she can breath and eat and talk, all human activities. yay for her. i don't think it constitutes this tortured soul searching. people have been getting fake parts for hundreds, even thousands, of years. fake teeth, fake hair, peg legs, hooks for hands, pretend noses, all kinds of crap. if anything, i would argue that restoring someone's ability to function makes them more human, or at least it might make them feel more human.
the lady got a new wind-pipe, she can breath and eat and talk, all human activities. yay for her. i don't think it constitutes this tortured soul searching. people have been getting fake parts for hundreds, even thousands, of years. fake teeth, fake hair, peg legs, hooks for hands, pretend noses, all kinds of crap. if anything, i would argue that restoring someone's ability to function makes them more human, or at least it might make them feel more human.
8
Not a big deal? They "grew" a windpipe. That's crazy. And totally different than fake teeth and peg legs.
Also, I doubt Charles was soul searching.
Also, I doubt Charles was soul searching.
9
Scientists have already grown a new heart for a rat:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22635550/
Growing a windpipe for a human seems only fair.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22635550/
Growing a windpipe for a human seems only fair.
10
Speaking as someone who would damn sure love a working pancreas, yay for stem cell reserch and growing organs that can make our lives better. Someone please tell me how this make someone "less" human or "post" human? We're not cyborgs yet... in fact, the more we use our own tissue to heal ourselves, the less likely that sci-fi future will take place...
11
@10 - By "After Human" (he didn't say "less"), I think Chuck is implying that our design flaws are what make us human. Failing eyesight, windpipes, and pancreases are part of the normal human condition, and now it is becoming possible to overcome that.
Ultimately (and hypothetically), immortality could be achieved. I mean, that is the goal, right?
Ultimately (and hypothetically), immortality could be achieved. I mean, that is the goal, right?
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