2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Clarifying the archetype of the cyborg concept: Linking 1920s British scientific thought with current understandings
| Project/Area Number |
25370091
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
History of thought
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| Research Institution | Hokkai-Gakuen University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
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| Keywords | サイボーグ / ジョン・Ｄ・バナール / アンディ・クラーク / extension / 拡張 / 延長 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
John Desmond Bernal, an Irish-born scientist, proposed in the 1920s the idea that human beings could extend specific functions of their body by substituting body parts for mechanical ones, thus creating the archetype for the cyborg concept of today. From Bernal, we have developed current cyborg theories by drawing from his “extension” paradigm, yet his model has conceptual limits. Andy Clark, a professor of philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, recently responded by suggesting another form of extension, not as a replacement - a la Bernal - but as the use of mechanical tools, or an “addition” to the human body. Despite this pioneering work, however, Clark has yet to posit his argument as an alternative to Bernal’s theory. As such, the value of his work needs to be recognized.
In this study, I discuss these two divergent approaches to conceptualizing the notion of extension, and present Clark’s theory as a benchmark for subsequent research in cyborg theory.
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| Free Research Field |
技術思想史
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