Part Three
At what point does a human stop being a human?
Does scientific advancement necessarily improve the human condition or does it hinder it? Does this further the concept of the 'haves and the have nots'? Do more questions and problems arise and what of the consequences of altering humankind's identity in the constructs of historical bias largely dreamed up by a third person point of view without consequential accountability?
One can certainly conclude that since 1973 when the human genome code was cracked, we've been on this steady course moving toward a post-human future.
In fact, it might just be here now!
https://www.livescience.com/64166-first-genetically-modified-babies-risks.html
As this is a largely unregulated and now cheap technology, we should look deeper into this migration and educate ourselves on the implications that will arise in way of cultural manifestations and moral perspectives. After all, technology is perpetually an assault on nature since it always involves its alteration through destruction.
However, I do see it's necessity in the advancement of humanity. For example, space exploration, cures for disease and mitigating the downward trend of human intelligence (IQ have starkly taken a hit). Just not the ideology that frames our use of it as an artifact that causes more harm than good.
“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity”–Albert Einstein
Given that the preceding explanation of human identity is primarily from a third person point of view utilizing the reductionist approach, let's dig a little deeper into the more interesting and inspiring first person, or somatic field view of human identity.
There is a general consensus among biologists that the body of an animal is being held up by muscles, bones, tendons, etc. However, there is an ever-growing body of evidence that would prove otherwise, or at least that this is only a small part of the whole.
Something that struck me as especially powerful was this statement in opposition to this consensus.
Despite the presence of these anatomical parts, without consciousness, the body will collapse on the ground. Hence, consciousness is a force within the body and only when it is conscious it will stand up and perform its usual activities. The moment consciousness leaves, the body collapses. The concept of awareness (an activity of consciousness) is of major interest for anesthesiologists, and in this branch of science, it is believed that unconsciousness brings the forgetfulness of pain. However, when patients undergo deep ether anesthesia, on recovery, some could not recall their surgery or the discussion, but some develop new psychological symptoms. In a while, after full recovery and under hypnosis, it is found that some patients recall the spoken word, identify speech, and interpret meaning. In some cases it may lead to life-threatening psychological trauma. In other words, in a living body, it is not just the molecules, bones, tissues and so forth that are all in all. The body has a foundation upon consciousness. ~ Bhakti Niskama, Ph.D
Further, Noble prize winner, Szent-Györgyi states:
I went from anatomy to the study of tissues, then to electron microscopy and chemistry, and finally to quantum mechanics. This downward journey through the scale of dimensions has its irony, for in my search for the secret of life, I ended up with atoms and electrons, which have no life at all. Somewhere along the line life has run out through my fingers. So, in my old age, I am now retracing my steps, trying to fight my way back.”
It would seem, at least from a somatic point of view, that we are not merely the sum of our parts but rather deriving life and identity from something far greater that seeps through all the layers that make up this human identity and mind. Something that animates this body and sparks the collaboration of chemicals and cells, bone and tissue that works cohesively. In fact, all living organisms share the same overtly noticeable goal-oriented activity (which includes self-determination, self-formation, self-preservation, self-reproduction, self-restitution). There is consciousness and awareness involved far beyond the basic tenants of
- Cultural identity
- National identity
- Identity identification with the profession
- Gender, sex, sexual identity
- Religious identity
- Ethnic identity
- Identification with the conviction of identity
Your conscious mind holds your wishes, desires and aspirations. That may or may not be in your current list of identifying personas - these are arbitrarily received in sometimes anonymous revelations that help to redirect our course in life.
What a gift Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor has given us in allowing us a glimpse from inside her mind as an observer of two separate realities we draw upon for our identity. One being the sum of our parts and limited sense of self derived from our environment and the other from something much greater, numinous, that simultaneously occupies this space and every living thing.
So who are we? We are the life force power of the universe, with manual dexterity and two cognitive minds. And we have the power to choose, moment by moment, who and how we want to be in the world. Right here right now, I can step into the consciousness of my right hemisphere where we are—I am—the life force power of the universe, and the life force power of the 50 trillion beautiful molecular geniuses that make up my form. At one with all that is. Or I can choose to step into the consciousness of my left hemisphere. where I become a single individual, a solid, separate from the flow, separate from you. I am Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, intellectual, neuroanatomist. These are the “we” inside of me. ~ Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor
Personally, I don't think we can stave off the future of technological advancements and its effects on human identity. That genie is already out of the bottle, but it certainly does give us a lot to think about.
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Additional Sources:
https://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/mediatheory/keywords/posthuman/
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19420889.2015.1085138