Publication details
Rethinking Embodiment: Bridging Phenomenology, Feminist Science Studies, and Posthumanism
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| Citation | |
| Description | This paper explores a creative dialogue between Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of embodiment and the work of Michel Foucault, particularly its influence on feminist philosophy of science and posthumanism. It begins by acknowledging the human condition as both animalistic and material. Humans are animal and material beings, nevertheless they relate to animality and matter as others while incorporate them into their lifeworlds and bodies. In phenomenological words: the flesh of our bodies is continuous with the flesh of the world. Drawing on Foucault, the paper then turn to the problematisation of human exceptionalism. The disentanglement of thought, knowledge, and power from fleshy realities is questioned also by scholars ethically committed to counteract human exceptionalism. We are simultaneously separate from and enmeshed with the world around us. Foucault's concept of the body as a site of power inscriptions highlights how disciplinary regimes construct individuality. However, we question whether a focus on dismantling these power structures, while crucial, risks neglecting the lived experiences of individuals within these assemblages. The core tension lies in the question: If, as Foucault suggests, the "soul is the prison of the body," can the lived experiences of individuals truly be the foundation for understanding the techno-scientific forces that shape individuality? By bringing these seemingly disparate approaches together, this paper aims to develop a richer understanding of embodiment in the technological age. It seeks to move beyond both the denial of human individuality and the sole focus on power structures, creating a space for considering the embodied experiences of individuals without purifying them of their existence. |