Annotated Webliography

Question 2.

“From Frankenstein to the Visible Human Project, the body is continually reinterpreted as a limit to what it means to be human.” Discuss critically.


When speaking of what it means to be human we must be careful to address this as a question in itself. As the body is reinterpreted constantly, what it means to be human changes just as frequently. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Visible Human Project manipulated the human body in order to reinterpret the role and ambitions of the human being. Although these are both courageous and practical ways of delving into the desire for more knowledge of the human body and its relationship with technology, an unseen consequence resulted in limits being applied to what it means to be human. Taking apart and displaying the human body in the Visible Human Project meant that humans were able to literally view their physical limit within cyberspace. This transfers to the defining of what it means to be human, thus creating boundaries that we believe determine our identity.

The Nation Master Encyclopedia website shows contemporary film Edward Scissorhands [1] and its reinterpretation of the human body. It shows the merging of the human body with a foreign, perhaps slightly primitive technological object. As a result limitations are placed on what it means to be human. On the site director Tim Burton says of Edwards’s scissors “They're both simple and complicated, creative and destructive. It's that feeling of being at odds with yourself.”. This reference would be used to show the struggle between human and technology, even in its simplest form. Much like Frankenstein, Edward Scissorhands has been created in the human image and yet is hindered by his technological enhancements. The fact that Edward cannot be assimilated into our society shows there are boundaries and expectations as to what ‘human’ really is. The quest for continual human improvement through new technologies falls short in this film yet it is something that society is continually searching for.

In reality it is extremely difficult to define what human is in order to be able to put limits on it. With increased interest in elective surgeries to alter the human body such as plastic and bypass, it is becoming harder and harder to define the human body as something that has been untouched by technologies. An online media release about a recent competition to win a boob job in a men’s magazine highlighted surgeon’s concerns about the risk of self diagnosis [2]. This suggests how widespread and easily accepted plastic surgery has become signifying that reinterpretation of the human body may soon be a thing of the past as it becomes harder to define ‘human’ rather then it’s limits. Perhaps scarier then this is the fact that alterations to the human body are occurring at earlier stages of development. Stem cell research is “important in helping to repair and replacing tissue damaged by disease or injury” [3] and in essence aims to build a future where the human body will be able to regenerate, potentially extending life expectancy rates. This ties in with Judy Wajcman’s notion of the ‘cyborg’[4]. The debate surrounding stem cell research has highlighted many ethical objections as discussed in an article issued by the Australian Government[5]. Altering or destroying an embryo or foetus in order to create potential cures lends to the idea of creating the invincible human and therefore reinterpreting or altering what it means to be human. This in turn is surely going to alter the limits that the body can reach.

Douglas C. Long, author of the online essay Descartes’ Argument for Mind-Body Dualism[6], talks of René Descartes, the great philosopher and his theory concerning the separation of the mind and body. Descartes claimed to be “entirely and absolutely distinct” from his body, reasoning that there was a separation between the body and the soul. He believed that his “essence is thought” rather then the more contemporary, public opinion that may relate ‘essence’ to the body. This online essay communicates issues of embodiment through more historical thought processes. Long’s essay could be used in a research paper to demonstrate that the body has been reinterpreted continually throughout history. Even though the mind, as Descartes saw it, seemed to be free of limitations, the body was seen as a shell, making the human body or part of what it means to be human seemingly irrelevant.

It is essential when answering questions about the body’s limitations and what it means to be human that we define what these actually are. In this case it is almost impossible to grasp a description that may be static in any way. The reinterpretations of the human body are no longer only found in films such as Edward Scissorhands. What it means to be human is continually changing especially given today’s advancements in technology and our desire to extend and enrich the quality of our lives. Whether it be external, such as plastic surgery, or internal enhancements, such as work done with stem cell research, it is becoming harder and harder to place limitations on the human form.



References

(2007) Edward Scissorhands. NationMaster Encyclopedia.
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Edward-Scissorhands#References (accessed 25 August 2008).

(2007) Shame on you – lads’ mag breasts gimmick plumbs new depths. Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons, (August 2007). http://www.plasticsurgery.org.au/default.asp?itemid=91 (accessed 24 August 2008).

Ethics of stem cell research. Biotechnology Online (An Australian Government Initiative).
http://www.biotechnologyonline.gov.au/human/ethicssc.cfm (accessed 25 August 2008).

Long, D. (1969) Descartes’ Argument for Mind-Body Dualism.
http://www.unc.edu/~dlong/DESCARTES_MS_WEb.DOC (accessed 25 August 2008).

Moser, A. (2006) Four of the Nation's Preeminent Research Institutions Announce Stem Cell Research Alliance. Burnham Institute for Medical Research, (March 2006).
http://www.burnham.org/default.asp?contentID=149 (accessed 24 August 2008).

Wajcman, J. (2004) The Cyborg Solution. Self. Net Unit Reader, July 2008, 1.




Footnotes:

[1] “Edward Scissorhands” http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Edward-Scissorhands#References (2007)
[2] “Shame on you – lads’ mag breasts gimmick plumbs new depths” http://www.plasticsurgery.org.au/default.asp?itemid=91 (2007)
[3] “Four of the Nation's Preeminent Research Institutions Announce Stem Cell Research Alliance” http://www.burnham.org/default.asp?contentID=149 (2006)
[4] Judy Wajcman, ‘ The Cyborg Solution’. Self. Net Unit Reader, 2004, p1.
[5] “Ethics of Stem Cell Research” http://www.biotechnologyonline.gov.au/human/ethicssc.cfm
[6] Douglas C. Long. http://www.unc.edu/~dlong/DESCARTES_MS_WEb.DOC (1969)