What the Cyborg Manifesto Means
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.02/ffharaway.html
This article in Wired Magazine managed to explain what Donna Haraway's "A Cyborg Manifesto" was all about in understandable terms. It also provided some background information on Haraway, which helped me to understand her personal philosophy.
From what I understand in the article, the Cyborg Manifesto is making the claim that people can be called cyborgs even if they don't go so far as having silicone chips implanted under their skin. The modern culture and way of life is so integrated with technology that it has become a part of us in its own way. Just as one computer, although physically retaining its original hardware, gains the capabilities of a supercomputer when it is connected to a network, such as the Internet, so are people empowered through a sort of cultural/technological network.
In my initial reaction to "A Cyborg Manifesto" I criticized Haraway's communication skills, as her impenetrable writing style failed to get across her intended message; Even now that I have read a couple of interpretations of the piece, I still think she unwisely set herself up to be needlessly cryptic. The word "cyborg" has a distinct definition as being a person with enhanced abilities due to technological modifications made directly to the body. Haraway is trying to redefine an already established term; This strategy has been attempted by arrogant young philosophers in the past, such as John Dewey, and they ended up spending the rest of their careers trying clarify what they really meant.
This article in Wired Magazine managed to explain what Donna Haraway's "A Cyborg Manifesto" was all about in understandable terms. It also provided some background information on Haraway, which helped me to understand her personal philosophy.
From what I understand in the article, the Cyborg Manifesto is making the claim that people can be called cyborgs even if they don't go so far as having silicone chips implanted under their skin. The modern culture and way of life is so integrated with technology that it has become a part of us in its own way. Just as one computer, although physically retaining its original hardware, gains the capabilities of a supercomputer when it is connected to a network, such as the Internet, so are people empowered through a sort of cultural/technological network.
In my initial reaction to "A Cyborg Manifesto" I criticized Haraway's communication skills, as her impenetrable writing style failed to get across her intended message; Even now that I have read a couple of interpretations of the piece, I still think she unwisely set herself up to be needlessly cryptic. The word "cyborg" has a distinct definition as being a person with enhanced abilities due to technological modifications made directly to the body. Haraway is trying to redefine an already established term; This strategy has been attempted by arrogant young philosophers in the past, such as John Dewey, and they ended up spending the rest of their careers trying clarify what they really meant.
posted by Scott Zuke | 9:34 PM
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