A critique of the post-neoliberal techno-utopia of transhumanism drawing on Deleuze and Guattari's Philosophy

Abstract

In this chapter, I intend to develop a critical study of transhumanism based on the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. I start from two hypotheses: (i) this philosophy updates Nietzsche’s in the technological aspect since it raises the question of overman concerning the recourse to technology as a technique of enhancement that characterizes the transhumanist movement (Deleuze 1988, 131); (ii) the Deleuzo-Guattarian concept of assemblage is useful to criticize the assumptions, biases and interests present in transhumanism, given the intertwining of the social field with technology that this approach implies. In accordance with the above, this chapter has the following objectives: (i) to elucidate the outlines of a rethinking of philosophical anthropology that responds to the transhumanist challenge, and (ii) to carry out a critique of the cultural assumptions and the socio-political biases and interests present in transhumanism, drawing on Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of assemblage.