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Welcome to week four, redefining the human.
Last week we questioned authenticity of the
humanist values that underpin many approaches to education.
Values like freedom and autonomy, which often seem to
be undermined or threatened by the use of digital technologies.
This week, we turn to some different perspectives on being human in the digital
age and what these might mean for e-learning.
In considering some of the critical perspectives on humanism, we have seen
firstly, that there is no one way to define all human beings collectively.
And secondly, that attempts to create equality and justice are
often undermined by the very principles of humanism upon which based.
In other words,
the idea of a normal human being creates the very conditions for difference
and discrimination. So, if humanism is inadequate as a
guide for the digital age, what principles and values might we use in the future?
And what role might be played
by increasingly complex and pervasive digital technologies?
Will they enhance or limit our
educational possibilities?
As suggested last week, Posthumanism is neither certain, nor coherent,
and the term varies depending on who you decide to read.
In week four, we'll be entering this contestable domain, with
a view to considering what education might be beyond humanism.
Perhaps even, beyond the human.
Second Life is often described as a virtual world, in which we
create avatars that are not limited by the constraints of real existence.
By many, it is considered a place where the real world body has no influence.
Where its defects or undesirable features can be
refashioned and where a new society can be forged
beyond the confines of our natural forms. It is similar principles that
underpin transhumanism, a movement that is often associated with posthumanism.
And which advocates a perfection of the human condition through the use of
scientific and technological enhancement. Not limited to mere virtual
worlds, transhumanism calls for real world interventions.
The overcoming of the aging process.
The vanquishing of sickness and disease, the augmenting of
our intellectual capacity and the engineering of human reproduction.
Whatever is human here is seen as
transcending, that is existing outside the body.
Which is viewed as a temporary and defective vessel for our being.
Some questions that might be relevant here are, is our
consciousness informational, and can it be transferred between different containers?
What might a transhuman education look like?
And what do you think about transhuman values, and
what might they mean for the future of education?
Well transhumanism might seem radical for some, we have included
it here as an example of the ways that humanist ideals.
Those ideals we have already questioned, frequently resurface in discussions
of e-learning or learning technology. We'd like you to consider
how terms like transformation, enhancement and
empowerment are being used in educational literature.
And to what extent then which
echoes popular or philosophical discourses of transhumanism?
What relationship between the human and the technological is being described?
And what alternative visions might we persue?
So think about these themes of redefining the human as you watch and hopefully
enjoy this weeks popular cultures videos and engage with the readings.
I look forward to the discussion.