Frankensteins and cyborgs: Visions of the global future in an age of technology
Graham, Elaine L.
Graham, Elaine L.
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Publication Date
2003-04-01
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Abstract
This paper draws attention to the role of representation in the depiction
of scientific and technological innovation as a means of understanding
the narratives that circulate concerning the shape of things to come. It
considers how metaphors play an important part in the conduct of
scientific explanation, and how they do more than describe the world in
helping also to shape expectations, normalise particular choices, establish
priorities and create needs. In surveying the range of metaphorical
responses to the digital and biotechnological age, we will see how
technologies are regarded both as ’endangerment’ and ’promise’. What
we believe ’technology’ is doing to ’us’ reflects important implicit
philosophies of technology and its relationship to human agency and
political choice; yet we also need to be alert to the assumptions about
’human nature’ itself which inform such reactions. The paper argues that
embedded in the various representations implicit in new technologies
are crucial issues of identity, community and justice: what it means to be
(post)human, who is (and is not) entitled to the rewards of technological
advancement, what priorities (and whose interests) will inform the shape
of global humanity into the next century.
Citation
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Journal
Studies in Christian Ethics
Research Unit
DOI
10.1177/095394680301600103
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PubMed Central ID
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Article
Language
en
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