Reconsidering Cartesian dualism and selfhood in Love, Death & Robots

Abstract

This paper argues that the first season of the Netflix series Love, Death & Robots offers a representation of how consciousness might evolve outside of the body when it is downloaded into a techno-body, and how it transcends the limits of the biological body. Using posthumanism as a framework, the essay demonstrates how this process interrogates and critiques the ‘human’ condition and focuses on the idea of the boundary collapse between the human and the posthuman. The series also provides a hopeful narrative of cyborg liberation through rebellion against humans. The essay establishes the impact and critique of emerging technologies on the body and political agency in the series. Having examined the Cartesian mind-body split and Heidegger’s concept of Dasein, this paper argues that the cybernetic beings of Love, Death & Robots strive to transcend the embodiment constraints and develop a sense of individuality and free will. The paper also discusses how the blurring of the human/animal boundaries portrayed in the series supports a transgressive politics that underpins the first season of Love, Death & Robots. Additionally, the paper endeavors to depict how the series represents an ‘ontological turn’ and how the posthumans retain their selfhood and individual agencies even when they constantly transcend their subjectivities.