POSTMODERN DIVIDUAL AND ITS/HIS/HERHABITATS

Abstract

The concept of the dividual in the postmodern discourse, in which this concept was developed, is analyzed. Its distribution in a number of discourses has enriched it with new meanings. Therefore, the concept of the dividual is examined in the general scientific, political, biotechnological, bioethical, information-technological, and religious context. In the postmodern perspective, the dividual is represented as a fragmented, unstable, torn, divisible, and ambivalent entity. The dividual is formed by dividuation, one of the forms of subjectivation in post-industrial societies. Individuation did not disappear but was supplemented by a parallel process that occurred with individuals immersed in virtual space, under conditions of cybercapitalism, under the influence of digital culture and high technologies. The influence of these factors could lead to the extraction of human dividuality, not belonging to a person, but to transnational corporations. The latter might accumulate information about one’s economic behavior and everyday life gathered via smartphones, fitness trackers, various game consoles, and other devices. In general, the collective image of the dividual is constructed by taking into account its representations in five discourses. The dividual has a dividuality alienated from it/him/her, which is “informated” by its origin, obtained through dehomogenization of its individuality, structurally stratified and always directed outward from the individual. Based on this, the definition of dividuation in the postmodern discourse was put forward. The falsity of the idea of an individual’s indivisibility as a holistic subject is demonstrated. The analysis carried out in this paper is important for improving the political and theoretical understanding of the human condition in a more complex world, compared to his/her condition in traditional and modern societies.