Is Cartesian mind/body dualism, as Hayles argues of posthuman embodiment the ultimate opposition that structures all of our debates about subjectivity and online identity?
Hayles is not the easiest of reads, but having just got to grips with Haraway, I feel I have now mastered the technique of thinking abstract and metaphoric rather than physiological reality.
“Virtuality is the cultural perception that material objects are interpenetrated by information patterns. The definition plays off the duality at the heart of the condition of virtuality – materiality on the one hand, information on the other” (Hayles, p13-14)
Hayles appears to define virtuality as a cultural perception that relates well to the social impact of new technologies. According to Hayles, virtuality consists of two categories – information and materiality, which are separable and discrete. The notion of “virtual embodiment” is not immediately obvious as it sounds like a contradiction in terms. How can virtuality and embodiment co-exist? In today’s society, our awareness of bodily sensation is generally the result of encountering the real world and not with virtual environments. However, I can also see how our experience of embodiment includes how our actions bring about changes in our understanding of ourselves, our emotional makeup, and our conscious and unconscious behaviours. For many people, including myself, since so much of my social interaction is via technology, it becomes difficult to retain a clear definition between reality and virtuality.
I see Hayles paper as identifying embodiment being determined by how we act. For Hayles, the body is an abstract concept that is constantly being culturally constructed. Virtuality is both a cultural and physiological construction that is constantly transforming concepts of reality. As mankind continues to interact with technology, and – it would appear through time - merge with it, our capacity to redefine embodiment and identity will also shift. Overall, I see Hayles as inviting us to consider who we are, and who we see ourselves as being in the future.
Here’s an example of a virtual companion I found on You Tube. I offer this as an example of cultural change between human and technology. Is the woman speaking to a machine or a companion?
