Posthümanizm Transhümanizme Karşı: James Tiptree, Jr.’ın Uzaktan Kumandalı Kız Adlı Kısa Romanı

Öz

Bu makale, yakın geçmişte bilimsel çevrelerde hız kazanan ve önemi gittikçe artan posthümanizm konusunda ileri sürülen çeşitli akademik görüşler üzerinden oluşturduğu argümanlarla, teknoloji vasıtasıyla insanın fiziksel ve bilişsel kapasitesini artırmayı hedefleyen transhümanizm ile insan kavramının özünü sorgulayan posthümanizmi birbirlerinden ayırt edecek özellikleri tartışmaya açmaktadır. Donna Haraway, Katherine Hayles, Rosi Braidotti, Cary Wolfe ve Francesca Ferrando gibi, posthümanizmin temelini oluşturan ve alanda önde gelen kuramcıların metodolojilerini izleyerek, insan olmanın anlamı; organik bir bedenin sağlayacağı yaşam destek sistemleri olmaksızın insan bilincinin var olup olamayacağı; ontolojik, epistemolojik ve etik düzlemlerden bakıldığında varlığa, bilgiye ve tepkisel ya da ahlaki olarak davranışlarımıza yönelik anlayışımızı teknoloji yoluyla yeniden düzenleyip düzenleyemeyeceğimiz gibi kritik, felsefi sorulara odaklanmaktadır. Dolayısıyla, bu makale, ele aldığı konular ile; zihin/ beden arasındaki ayrılmaz ilişkinin öneminin altını çizmekte, yazı (bilgi) ile bedensellik arasındaki ikilemi sorgulamakta ve bir yandan James Tiptree, Jr.’ın Uzaktan Kumandalı Kız (1973) adlı kısa romanının posthümanist teknofeminist bir metin olarak değerlendirilip değerlendirilemeyeceği sorusuna yanıt ararken, diğer bir yandan da teknolojik gelişmeler, protez (eklenti) bedenler ve posthümanizmin feminist boyutları arasındaki dinamik ilişkileri incelemektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• posthümanizm
• transhümanizm
• bilim kurgu
• uzaktan kumandalı kız
• james tiptree jr.

Posthumanism versus Transhumanism: James Tiptree, Jr.’s The Girl Who Was Plugged In

Abstract

This article builds its arguments on the relatively recent discussions of posthumanism in the academic circles, especially as regards the distinctive features that render it separate from transhumanist endeavors of human enhancement through technological means. Following the diverse methodologies of foregrounding scholars of posthumanism, such as Donna Haraway, Katherine Hayles, Rosi Braidotti, Cary Wolfe, and Francesca Ferrando, it seeks to highlight the debate of ‘humanness,’ enquiring into whether human consciousness could exist without the life-supporting systems of an organic body and to what extent technologies could help us reform our way of understanding the ontological, epistemological, and ethical grounds of being, existing, and acting responsibly and responsively. By drawing upon philosophical questions as such, the article points out the intertwined relations between the mind and the body, cross-examines the dichotomy of inscription versus corporeality, and analyzes the dynamic ties between technological advances, prosthetic bodies, and the feminist dimensions of posthumanism, while questioning whether James Tiptree, Jr.’s novella The Girl Who Was Plugged In (1973) could be considered a posthuman techno-feminist text.

Keywords

• posthumanism
• transhumanism
• science-fiction
• the girl who was plugged in
• james tiptree jr.

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