Posthumans and Extended Experience

This paper offers a posthumanist account of the relationship between humans and technology, the nature of human existence and the potential for extended life. The paper contributes to the life extension debate currently going on within posthuman studies, but rather than looking at extending life-span in a temporal sense I propose a metaphysically extended view of human existence. Arguing against those who wish to reduce human essence to a flow of symbolic information (uploading the mind, etc.), I posit the posthuman as a radically extended and embodied being whose experience is potentially boundless. To support this position, I outline the case for an ontological approach I term 'extensionism', which draws on recent philosophical notions of the 'extended mind' as well as more ancient Buddhist ideas of 'dependent origination'. Extensionism stresses the continuities between objects and events rather than the divisions. I use this approach to argue for the continuity between humans and technology, in contrast to those who see an inherent division, or even antagonism, between them. I conclude by offering a description of technologically-enhanced (post)human experience that transcends distinctions but is nevertheless grounded in the world. Introduction One of the most frequently discussed topics in posthumanist and transhumanist circles is life extension, which normally denotes the indefinite prolongation of life through chemical, cryogenic or other technological means. [1] Rather than proposing extending life-span, this paper stresses the potential for extending life-experience, that is, expanding our understanding of what being human is — even if that implies, as I will argue, that we consequently find ourselves becoming posthuman.