Beyond Humanity: Posthuman Visions in Contemporary Fiction

This his book explores the philosophy of posthumanism, challenging traditional humanist philosophy and rejecting the exceptional traits and superior position attributed to the human being. The contemporary novels Klara and the Sun and Machines Like Me, which introduce humanoid robots as the protagonists, present a picture of posthuman society with the coexistence of human and nonhuman entities and the blurred lines between different species. The development and standards of human life, the role of technology in the advancement of human subjects, and the process of transhumanism are explored through the representation of AI. The transgressed boundaries between human and nonhuman entities are highlighted, and the interdependent, embedded, fluid, evolving posthuman subjectivities are exemplified. The robotization of humans and humanization of the robots are at the forefront. The book clarifies the complex side of posthuman philosophy as the promise of coexistence, gives rise to both hope and fear, and the novels start with a deep fascination with AI; the robots’ stories end in misery. The participation of robot characters in life brings about several ethical problems and necessitates new ethical regulations. Though posthumanism embraces diversity, the robots, as posthuman subjects, are commodified, otherised, and exploited by their human masters to sustain human superiority in line with capitalist designs. Contrary to expectations, the novels include humanist-posthumanist paradoxes while promising egalitarianism, they also imply carrying hierarchical orders.