This book offers a comprehensive reflection on the existential condition of the 21st century. A visionary introduction to existential posthumanism, it takes the form of eight meditations of posthuman self-inquiry.

Existential posthumanism embraces the question ‘Who am I?’ in relation to: ‘Where, When, and Why are We?’. This journey of self-discovery engages with a wide range of knowledge and expertise – from ancient paths of wisdom to the latest developments in science and biotechnologies; from Paleolithic times to the futures of radical life extension. The book declutters the habit of being human: as individuals, as societies, as a species. Letting go of the need for anthropocentric mastery and species-specific ambitions, the reader emerges regenerated. Being posthuman, in the 21st century, entails awareness of inter-being: from our symbiotic co-evolutions to the rights of Nature; from the geological time of the Anthropocene to the rise of Big Data and artificial intelligence. In ecology, biology, technology and ontology, the manifold paths of posthuman self-realization will reveal that we are all co-creators in the existential unfolding: our lives are our ultimate works of art.

The Art of Being Posthuman is a self-help guide to navigate our brave new world.

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Table of contents:

Premise
Introduction: How can Posthumanism bring Change?

Meditation 1: Posthuman Self-Enquiry
#Existential Posthumanism  ​#Inter-being #Existentialism? 
#21st Century #Dream #Change #Redemption #Posthuman Awareness

Meditation 2: Human Evolutions
#Decluttering #Human(-centric)? #Beyond Anthropocentrism #Scientifically, Human 
#Primates, Chimps and Bonobos #Archaic Humans? #Almost Human 
#The Birth of Anthropocentrism #Pre-History? #Re-Generation 
#Human animal #Microcosm/Macrocosm #Beyond Human-Centrism #With or Without Humans?

Meditation 3: Biotic Co-Emergences
#Embodiments #Double Helix #Bio-me #Holobionts #Vir/us #Viral Awareness 
#Species Agency #Radical Life Extension #Hitler Paradox #Species Healing

Meditation 4: Ecological Presence
#Earth #Nature, again? #Philosophical Greenwashing #Rights of Nature 
#Anthropogenic Hermit #Climate Change #Eco-sophy #Indoor Society #Wood Wide Web 
#Eco-logy / Eco-nomy #Re-engineering Nature? #Posthuman Polite Convention

Meditation 5: Cosmic Constellations
#Made of Stardust #Cosmic Address #Chaos and Cosmos 
#Universal Re-Cycles #Cosmopolitics #Posthuman Gravity #Space Migration #Golden Paradox

Meditation 6: Technological Enhancement
#Digital Existentialism #Techno-Enchantment #Poiesis #AI Takeover #High-Tech Prophecy 
#Bio-Hacking #Big Data #Microtargeting #Data Awareness 
#Algorithmic Predestination #Enlightened Robots #Golden Cage
​#Planetary Enhancement #Simulation Hypothesis

Meditation 7: Socio-cultural Agency
#Society #Human Rights? #Social Pandemics #Bubbles #Social Coding #Id-Entity 
#Knowledge-Production #War Culture #No War #Schooling or Unschooling? 
#Posthuman Education #Post-humanist Curricula #Inanna / Enheduanna 
#Posthuman Parenthood #Pink Trap #Posthuman Agency

Meditation 8: Ontological Awareness
#(P)Art #Posthuman Archetypes #Consciousness Hacking #Mind #Subjects
​#Non-Being #Dream #Spirituality #Self-Realization

Conclusions: Posthuman Mantra
Bibliography
Acknowledgements

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Francesca Ferrando’s book: The Art of Being Posthuman is published by Polity Press (Cambridge: UK). Release Dates: Fall 2023 / Winter 2024.

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www.theposthuman.org

www.posthumans.org

Art, Culture, Education, Mind, Social Change