Cyborg Citizen; Politics in the Posthuman Age
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Some great science fiction has asked about robots and the right to vote--but what happens when we're 51 percent artificial ourselves? Cyberculture scholar Chris Hables Gray looks at the ever-changing human body in Cyborg Citizen: Politics in the Posthuman Age and makes some well-educated guesses on the makeup of the future cybernetic body politic. Though he does go out of his way to remind the reader that nearly all of us are bioenhanced (that is a vaccination scar, isn't it?), he's neither a chrome-eyed Extropian nor a Rifkinesque fear-mongerer. His thesis is refreshingly simple in a world overfilled with postmodern complexity: we're changing our bodies more and more radically, and we ought to think about how this will change our way of life.
Examining health care, social interactions, and politics, Gray's focus is largely on particular modifications and enhancements such as prosthetic limbs, artificial organs, performance-enhancing drugs, and their descendants. The book never dips into freak show territory, though; even if Gray uses colorful examples to illustrate his points, he still maintains a humanistic attitude throughout. His simple thesis, coupled with this attitude, create a web of thought that is simultaneously entertaining and enlightening. Though our track record on preemptively dealing with change is spotty at best, reading Cyborg Citizen is still a good prescription for keeping the posthuman jitters at bay. --Rob Lightner
Review
"[An] eruption of tomorrow's topics....."
–Andrei Yuri Lubomudrov, Willamette Week
"...insightful and well formulated.."
–Andrei Yuri Lubomudrov, Willamette Week
"An intriguing social survey perfect for discussion groups.."
–Reviewer's Bookwatch
"...a supremely readable book, enlivened by weird science and slap-shot one-liners.."
–Wired, Mark Dery, May 2001
"...Cyborg Citizen is a ripping good yarn-just the thing for Dr. Moreau's waiting room.."
–Wired, Mark Dery, May 2001
Cyborg Citizen; Politics in the Posthuman Age
Cyborg Citizen; Politics in the Posthuman Age,CHRIS GRAY,Routledge,0415919789,Cyborgs,Human-machine systems,Philosophy & Social Aspects,Popular Culture - General,Robotics,Science,Social Aspects,Social Science,Sociology,Technology And Social Change,Artificial intelligence,Popular culture
Cyborg Citizen; Politics in the Posthuman Age
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