John Waterworth: The Cyborg, the Self and the Other

Without technology, we would not be human. But what is the essential nature of our relationship with information and communication technology (ICT)? Are we natural born cyborgs (Clark, 2003), or more like the “natural born dualists” implied by Bloom (2004)? I suggest that we are both, and that this can be better understood by considering what happens when our relationship with ICTs breaks down; when we are suddenly and unexpected deprived of their support. If we have become used to and dependent on them, we are - at least temporarily - at a loss. This loss might feel as if an organ of perception is missing, so that some of the world can no longer be perceived and acted upon. Or it may feel as if a part of unconscious memory has been erased, and we just can’t access that information consciously when needed anymore. These are quite different psychological effects which, I will argue, reflect the “presence mechanism” in action, calibrating the extent to which we are immersed in an external environment. Its output helps us to partially answer the question of who is acting on the information: the cyborg, the self, or the other?

The seminar will be a revised version of my keynote address to the 1st PEACH Summer School on "Presence, towards human machine confluence", held on the island of Santorini, Greece, in July. I will also present a brief overview of the event as a whole.

Bloom, P (2004). Descartes’ Baby: How the Science of Child Development Explains What Makes Us Human. New York: Basic Books.

Clark, A (2003). Natural Born Cyborgs. New York: Oxford University Press.

Välkomna!
John Waterworth