Prophets of the Posthuman : American Fiction, Biotechnology, and the Ethics of Personhood /

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This book provides a fresh and original reading of fictional narratives that raise the question of what it means to be human in the face of rapidly developing bioenhancement technologies. The author argues that works by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walker Percy, Flannery O'Connor, Toni Morrison, George...

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Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Lake, Christina Bieber
Format: Électronique eBook
Langue:Inglés
Publié: Notre Dame, Indiana : University of Notre Dame Press, [2013]
Collection:Book collections on Project MUSE.
Sujets:
Literature and technology.
Human beings in literature.
Ethics in literature.
Bioethics in literature.
American fiction.
SCIENCE > Biotechnology.
LITERARY CRITICISM > American > General.
Litterature et technologie > États-Unis > Histoire > 20e siecle.
Homme dans la litterature.
Morale dans la litterature.
Roman americain > 20e siecle > Histoire et critique.
Literature and technology > United States > History > 20th century.
American fiction > 20th century > History and criticism.
United States.
History.
Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Electronic books.
Accès en ligne:Texto completo
Description
Résumé:This book provides a fresh and original reading of fictional narratives that raise the question of what it means to be human in the face of rapidly developing bioenhancement technologies. The author argues that works by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walker Percy, Flannery O'Connor, Toni Morrison, George Saunders, Marilynne Robinson, Raymond Carver, James Tiptree, Jr., and Margaret Atwood must be reevaluated in light of their contributions to larger ethical questions. Drawing on a wide range of sources in philosophical and theological ethics, the author claims that these writers share a commitment to maintaining a category of personhood more meaningful than that allowed by utilitarian ethics. This book insists that because technology can never ask whether we should do something that we have the power to do, literature must step into that role. Through the vision of the writers she discusses, the author uncovers a deep critique of the ascendancy of personal autonomy as America's most cherished value. This ascendancy, coupled with technology's glamorous promises of happiness, helps to shape a utilitarian view of persons that makes responsible ethical behavior toward one another almost impossible. This book charts the essential role that literature must play in the continuing conversation of what it means to be human in a posthuman world.
Description matérielle:1 online resource (264 pages).
ISBN:9780268075866

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