Four - The Social Skin, the Antisocial Skin, and the Pursuit of Morphological Freedom

Summary

Chapter 4 explores the transhumanist pursuit of morphological freedom. It asks, how does the transhumanist attempt to transform the body compare and contrast with “social skins” found in other societies (Turner 1980)? Transhumanists insist that individuals should be allowed to do with their bodies what they please. At first glance, therefore, what they seem to champion is not a social skin, but rather a sovereign skin, a purely autonomous body and subject that will be unhampered by the pressures of society and absolutely free to develop in whatever way he/she/they see fit. A closer look at transhumanist initiatives to modify or enhance the body, however, do reveal a commitment to a shared set of meanings and values. Therefore, by focusing on some of the iniitatives that animate pursuits of morphological freedom, this chapter sheds further light on the values and meanings that animate the transhumanist world view. It also considers how the transhumanist pursuit of morphological freedom might be establishing new standards of techno-normativity that could have a profound consequences for the way subjects and societies will be disciplined and stratified in the future.