In the Machine We Trust: Cyborg Body of Philosophy, Religion and Fiction

Abstract

The idea of mind uploading shows that in the philosophical sense, we are still deeply embedded in Cartesian dualisms and Newtonian mechanical ways of thinking. Moreover, this idea neglects our material existence, i.e. our embodied reality, no matter how obsolete or imperfect or unable to cope with exponential technological advancements it may be. In this paper I will attempt to step out of Eurocentric and anthropocentric thought in two ways. Firstly, by introducing the Chinese philosophical concept of Tao - through the etymology of the written character Tao I will comparatively analyze it with the concept of the Machine-God. Secondly, the desire to leave the meat behind emerging from the body-mind split will be criticized through the concept of embodied consciousness. In order for a mind or any other immaterial phenomena to be uploaded into a machine, it first has to be measured, pragmatically proven and materialized. This shows the discrepancy between our mechanical hardware / the inert matter and dynamical wetware / living bodies. The paper will be an attempt to provide a platform for more inclusive, anti-essentialist ways of thinking and debating the complex and intimate relations with our machines and their potential to shape possible posthuman futures.