POST-HUMANISM: THERAPEUTIC SELF, BIO-TECH SURVEILLANCE, SOCIO-ECONOMIC MODIFICATION, AND AMERICAN FICTION
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Keywords
Subjectivity, Post-humanism, Therapeutics, psychiatry, Economy, Self, Bio-Technology
Abstract
This study explores the cultural implications of quantified-self influenced by technological advancements projected in contemporary American novels with reflection on the potential contemporary alterities in human existence in form of technology and surveillance. It takes into account the dominant influence of natural and social sciences and the transformative impact of quantitative methods. The research also examines the historical and cultural persistence of the quantified self in American society. Although subjectivity has been a part of American culture since Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography (1791), this argument contends that the quantified self is a global phenomenon. This paradigm focuses on how individualism, the quest of economic self-improvement, and the beliefs in progress, self-control, and self-possession are affected by technology. Consequently, the concept of the quantified self can be linked to theoretical discussions surrounding 1) subjectivity shaped by economic factors, 2) post-humanism, and 3) knowledge cultures in the information age.
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Muhammad Saqlain
Zhengzhou University, Zhongyuan Qu, Zhengzhou Shi, Henan Sheng, China
Dr. Gao Xiaoling
Zhengzhou University, Zhongyuan Qu, Zhengzhou Shi, Henan Sheng, China
Dr. Sohail Ahmed Saeed
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan
Dr. Mazhar Hussain
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan