Evolving the Natural-Born Cyborg

Abstract

Transhumanism is the concept of eliminating the weaknesses and “failings” of our evolved biology, often through the use of technological artefacts. Without such limitations as aging, physical strength, capacity for knowledge retention, and so on, Transhumanists argue that we can “evolve into something better”. In his book Natural-Born Cyborgs (2003), Andy Clark claims that we need not fear the notion of the ‘cyborg’—as we ourselves are already naturally predisposed to a cyborg-esque nature. Drawing upon works within cognitive science that tackle extended cognition, Clark demonstrates that humans have a natural instinct to incorporate tools due to the plasticity of our brains, and our already well-demonstrated capacity to integrate technology in such a way that it becomes an extension of self. Clark’s notion of the natural-born cyborg creates an interesting point of discussion, ultimately leading us to the question of whether Transhumanism is the inevitable next step for the human race. At first consideration, it would appear that would be a reasonable assumption—however, turning to the field of extended cognition, I believe we can find interesting phenomenological links between the importance of embodiment and presence in the world, and how we can retain such facets of humanity, whilst still taking advantage of our natural abilities to create and adapt to technology and technological items. The conclusion of such, leads to Virtual Reality technology; a relatively new form of technology, which I argue holds qualities which set it apart from other forms of technology—qualities which allow the advancement towards “posthuman”, whilst countering some of the potential downsides of human-technological integration.