The phenomenon of the posthuman in the paradigm of modern culture

Abstract

Scientific and technological progress has called into question the prevailing doctrines concerning the human condition. The author examines in detail the significance of the discussion about the need for a new understanding of what it means to be a human being in a society where the traditional differences between man and non-man, technology and biology, as well as nature and culture are becoming increasingly blurred. Particular attention is paid to the concepts of posthumanism and transhumanism, which, going beyond humanism, offer to reconsider and rethink what it means to be human. This article analyzes and compares modern approaches to defining the concept of posthumanism, where posthumanism is understood as a paradigm of thinking that replaces postmodernism, assimilating its basic attitudes. The object of the study is the idea of the posthuman as a biological species, a cybernetic organism and a digital disembodied entity. The subject of the study is the visual embodiment of the image of the posthuman in modern popular culture. The author's special contribution to the study of the topic is the analysis of many descriptive images of the posthuman, all of which find figurative embodiment in popular culture. The main conclusions of the conducted research are: cinema anticipated many transhumanistic and posthumanistic ideas, which later become the subject of study by philosophers and culturologists of ethical dilemmas and contradictions faced by humanity, discussions of the meaning of human existence, driven by the acceleration of scientific achievements and technological innovations. In a sense, it can be argued that mass culture is a tool that helps to realize the scale of social and cultural changes caused by the latest technological developments.