<b><i>Frankenstein</i> on Language and Becoming (Post)Human</b> // <i>Frankenstein</i> sobre el lenguaje y la conversión en (post)humano

Authors

  • Felice Cimatti University of Calabria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37536/ECOZONA.2016.7.1.976

Keywords:

Shelley’s “monster, ” Condillac’s statue, Wittgenstein “private language, ” Lacanian “mirror stage, ” post human community // "Monstruo" de Shelley, estatua de Condillac, “lenguaje privado” en Wittgenstein, “estadio del espejo” de Lacan, comunidad posthumana

Abstract

      The “monster” in Shelley’s Frankenstein is a body forced to become human by itself, without any help from other human beings. This process necessarily fails, because there is no humanity without sociality. The case of the “monster” is confronted with two similar cases: Condillac’s statue in Traité des sensations and Wittgenstein’s “private language” in Philosophical Investigations. What the “monster” lacks is an external social and linguistic mirror where it could recognize itself as a human being. But the “creature” is still too human to endure its new post-human condition. The main theoretical consequences of such a hybrid state are analyzed here. In particular, the paper ends with the proposal of a tentative concept of “post human community.”

 

Resumen

      El “monstruo” en Frankenstein de Shelley es un cuerpo forzado a convertirse en humano por sí mismo, sin la ayuda de otros seres humanos. Este proceso está condenado al fracaso, porque no hay humanidad sin socialidad. El caso del “monstruo” es confrontado con otros dos casos parecidos: la estatua de Condillac en Traité des sensations y el “lenguaje privado” en Wittgenstein en Investigaciones Filosóficas. Lo que al “monstruo” le falta es un espejo externo, social y lingüístico, dónde poder reconocerse a sí mismo como ser humano. La "criatura" es todavía demasiado humana para sobrellevar su nueva condición post-humana. En este artículo se analizan las principales consecuencias teóricas de tal estado híbrido. En concreto, este trabajo finaliza con la propuesta del concepto provisional "comunidad post-humana".

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Felice Cimatti, University of Calabria

Associate Professor in Philosophy of Language

Department of Humanistic Studies

University of Calabria, Italy

Downloads

Published

2016-06-15

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2016): Animal Humanities

Section

Articles: Animal Humanities

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

a) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal (CC BY-NC for articles and CC BY-NC-ND for creative work, unless author requests otherwise.

b) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

c) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).