Editing Posthumanism (section)

==Technological versus non-technological==
Posthumanism can be divided into  ''non-technological'' and ''technological'' forms.<ref name="Herbrechter 2013 two forms">{{cite book|title=Posthumanism: A Critical Analysis|last1=Herbrechter|first1=Stefan|date=2013|publisher=Bloomsbury|isbn=978-1-7809-3690-1|location=London}}After referring (p. 3) to "the current technology-centred discussion about the potential transformation of humans into something else (a process that might be called 'posthumanization')," Herbrechter offers an analysis of Lyotard's essay "A Postmodern Fable," in which Herbrechter concludes (p. 7) that "What Lyotard's sequel to Nietzsche's fable shows is that, on the one hand, there is no point in denying the ongoing technologization of the human species, and, on the other hand, that a purely technology-centred idea of posthumanization is not enough to escape the humanist paradigm."</ref><ref name="Gladden 2018">{{cite book|title=Sapient Circuits and Digitalized Flesh: The Organization as Locus of Technological Posthumanization|edition=second|last1=Gladden|first1=Matthew|date=2018|url = http://www.matthewgladden.net/wp-content/uploads/Sapient-Circuits-and-Digitalized-Flesh-2e-M-Gladden-2018.pdf|publisher=Defragmenter Media|isbn=978-1-944373-21-4|location=Indianapolis, IN|access-date=March 14, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=On Trans-Humanism (Review)|last=Evans|first=Woody|date=2022|journal=Prometheus: Critical Studies in Innovation|url=https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/prometheus.38.2.0271|access-date=January 16, 2025}}</ref>

=== Non-technological posthumanism ===
While posthumanization has links with the scholarly methodologies of posthumanism, it is a distinct phenomenon. The rise of explicit posthumanism as a scholarly approach is relatively recent, occurring since the late 1970s;<ref name="Ferrando 2013"/><ref name="Herbrechter 2013" /> however, some of the processes of posthumanization that it studies are ancient. For example, the dynamics of ''non-technological'' posthumanization have existed historically in all societies in which animals were incorporated into families as [[Pet|household pets]] or in which [[ghosts]], [[monster]]s, [[angel]]s, or semidivine [[Greek hero cult|heroes]] were considered to play some role in the world.<ref name="Graham 2002">{{cite book|title=Representations of the Post/Human: Monsters, Aliens and Others in Popular Culture|last1=Graham|first1=Elaine|date=2002|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=0-8135-3058-X|location=Manchester}}</ref><ref name="Herbrechter 2013">{{cite book|title=Posthumanism: A Critical Analysis|last1=Herbrechter|first1=Stefan|date=2013|publisher=Bloomsbury|isbn=978-1-7809-3690-1|location=London}}</ref><ref name="Gladden 2018" />

Such non-technological posthumanization has been manifested not only in mythological and literary works but also in the construction of [[temple]]s, [[Cemetery|cemeteries]], [[zoo]]s, or other physical structures that were considered to be inhabited or used by quasi- or para-human beings who were not natural, living, biological human beings but who nevertheless played some role within a given society,<ref name="Herbrechter 2013" /><ref name="Gladden 2018" /> to the extent that, according to philosopher [[Francesca Ferrando]]: "the notion of [[spirituality]] dramatically broadens our understanding of the posthuman, allowing us to investigate not only technical technologies (robotics, cybernetics, biotechnology, nanotechnology, among others), but also, technologies of existence."<ref Name="Ferrando 2016">{{cite book | last = Ferrando | first = Francesca |editor1= Banerji, Debashish | title = Critical Posthumanism and Planetary Futures | edition = 1st| publisher = Springer  | location = New York | isbn = 9788132236375 | year = 2016 | pages = 243–256 | chapter = Humans Have Always Been Posthuman: A Spiritual Genealogy of the Posthuman | chapter-url = https://www.academia.edu/31138169 |  access-date=2018-08-08 | display-editors=etal}}</ref>

=== Technological posthumanism ===
Some forms of technological posthumanization involve efforts to directly alter the social, psychological, or physical structures and behaviors of the human being through the development and application of technologies relating to [[genetic engineering]] or [[Neuroprosthetics|neurocybernetic augmentation]]; such forms of posthumanization are studied, e.g., by [[Cyborg|cyborg theory]].<ref name="Gray 1995">''The Cyborg Handbook'' (1995). Chris Hables Gray, editor. New York: Routledge. {{ISBN|9780415908498}}.</ref> Other forms of technological posthumanization indirectly "posthumanize" human society through the deployment of [[social robot]]s or attempts to develop [[artificial general intelligence]]s, [[Cognitive robotics|sentient networks]], or other entities that can collaborate and interact with human beings as members of posthumanized societies.

The dynamics of technological posthumanization have long been an important element of [[science fiction]]; genres such as [[cyberpunk]] take them as a central focus. In recent decades, technological posthumanization has also become the subject of increasing attention by scholars and policymakers. The expanding and accelerating forces of technological posthumanization have generated diverse and conflicting responses, with some researchers viewing the processes of posthumanization as opening the door to a more meaningful and advanced [[Transhumanism|transhumanist]] future for humanity,<ref name="Moravec 1988">{{cite book|title=Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence|url=https://archive.org/details/mindchildrenfutu00mora|url-access=registration|last1=Moravec|first1=Hans|date=1988|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=0-674-57618-7|location=Cambridge}}</ref><ref name="Kurzweil 2005">{{cite book|title=The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology|last1=Kurzweil|first1=Ray|date=2005|publisher=Penguin|isbn=9781101218884|location=New York, NY}}</ref><ref name="Bostrom 2008">{{cite book|last=Bostrom|first=Nick|title=Medical Enhancement and Posthumanity|chapter=Why I Want to Be a Posthuman When I Grow Up|chapter-url=https://nickbostrom.com/posthuman.pdf|year=2008|editor1-last=Gordijn|editor1-first=Bert|editor2-last=Chadwick|editor2-first=Ruth|pages=107–137|publisher=Springer Netherlands|isbn=978-1-4020-8851-3|access-date=August 16, 2018}}</ref> while other [[Bioconservatism|bioconservative]] critiques warn that such processes may lead to a fragmentation of human society, loss of meaning, and subjugation to the forces of technology.<ref name="Fukuyama 2002">{{cite book|title=Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution|last1=Fukuyama|first1=Francis|date=2002|publisher=Farrar, Straus, and Giroux|isbn=9781861972972|location=New York, NY}}</ref>

=== Common features ===
Processes of technological and non-technological posthumanization both tend to result in a partial "de-[[Anthropocentrism|anthropocentrization]]" of human society, as its circle of membership is expanded to include other types of entities and the position of human beings is decentered. A common theme of posthumanist study is the way in which processes of posthumanization challenge or blur simple [[Binary opposition|binaries]], such as those of "human versus non-human", "natural versus artificial", "alive versus non-alive", and "biological versus mechanical".<ref name="Ferrando 2013 non-dualistic">Ferrando, Francesca (2013). "Posthumanism, Transhumanism, Antihumanism, Metahumanism, and New Materialisms: Differences and Relations." ''Existenz: An International Journal in Philosophy, Religion, Politics, and the Arts'' 8 (2): 26-32. ISSN 1932-1066. Ferrando notes (p. 27) that such challenging of binaries constitutes part of "the post-anthropocentric and post-dualistic approach of (philosophical, cultural, and critical) posthumanism."</ref><ref name="Herbrechter 2013" />