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Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
Published on: June 3, 2013
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Post-human body and beauty
Maria Teresa Russo1, Nicola Di Stefano2
1Institute of Philosophy of Scientific and Technological Practice Campus Biomedico University, Rome. Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128 Roma. m.russo@unicampus.it.
Summary
The concept of post-human aesthetics is challenged, proposing "post-natural" instead. This post-natural reality, an artifact devoid of beauty, signifies the dissolution of traditional aesthetic principles and the human form.
Area of Science:
- Philosophy of Aesthetics
- Bioethics
- Posthuman Studies
Background:
- The traditional understanding of aesthetics is challenged by emerging biotechnologies and human augmentation.
- The concept of 'post-human' requires re-evaluation in light of radical transformations of human nature.
Purpose of the Study:
- To question the possibility of a "post-human aesthetics."
- To introduce and define the concept of "post-natural" reality.
- To analyze the implications of this post-natural condition for beauty and aesthetics.
Main Methods:
- Philosophical inquiry and conceptual analysis.
- Deconstruction of the term "post-human" and "aesthetics."
- Exploration of the characteristics of a "post-natural" state.
Main Results:
- It is more accurate to speak of "post-natural" rather than "post-human" aesthetics.
- The post-natural condition, characterized by perfection and immortality, results in a complete absence of beauty.
- The post-human body, as a "non-body," lacks the essential qualities of beauty such as harmony and uniqueness.
Conclusions:
- The pursuit of a perfect, artifactual existence leads to "post-beauty," which is the dissolution of beauty itself.
- Aesthetics must be re-examined in the context of radical human transformation and the creation of artificial realities.
- The concept of beauty is intrinsically linked to natural human form and experience, which are lost in the post-natural state.
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