本文是一篇英语论文，本文旨在对小说中呈现的后人类危机进行详细分析，并挖掘危机背后的社会根源，探究后人类生存困境的解决方法。希望本文对解决后人类危机的方法所进行的探究可以帮助人们以全新的思维认识人类生存并且从容面对当下和未来可能遇见的危机。
Chapter One Posthumanism and Its Evolution
1.1 Origin of Posthumanism
From the beginning of the Enlightenment,rationalism replaced God and madehuman become the subject.Descartes’“Je pense,donc je suis”confirmed that as longas there is rational thinking,there is a human subject“I”.According to Descartes,thereason why human is distinguished from other things is that they have the power ofreason,which allows them to think and judge.And the subsequent theories ofhumanists and enlightening thinkers also highlight the subjectivity of human beings.With the development of humanism and even anthropocentrism,modern historyseems to be a history from God to man.However,when human pulls God down,canhuman himself sit on the throne forever?
After World War II,humanism was questioned by many thinkers,its statusbegan to falter.French philosopher Foucault first proposed the“death of man”.Onthe last page of The Order of Things,Foucault wrote:“Man would be erased,like aface drawn in sand at the edge of the sea”(Foucault,1970:422).This is thesubversion of anthropocentrism,the end of human subject status.In What IsPosthumanism,Cary Wolfe also cited this classical argument to illustrate the originof posthumanism.He argued that“the term“posthumanism”itself seems to haveworked its way into contemporary critical discourse in the humanities and socialsciences during the mid-1990s,though its roots go back,in one genealogy,at least tothe 1960s”(Wolfe,2010:12).Nietzsche’s“Death of God”dispelled the authority ofGod,while Foucault’s“death of man”deconstructed the authority of human.InInhuman,Lyotard criticized humanism for that the“man”endowed with universalvalue has long been far away from the real existence of man,it has reduced to the“fictional thing”of man,that is“inhuman”.Heidegger also criticized modernityrepresented by arrogant Enlightenment rationalism.These thoughts laid thefoundation for the birth of posthumanism.
1.2 Evolution of Posthumanism
Since the middle and late 20th century,more and more scholars have beeninvolved in the discussion of posthumanism.The connotation of posthumanismtheory has been continuously expanded,breaking through the limitation of onedimension and extending to multiple interdisciplinary fields.
At the beginning of the development of posthumanism,a similar word appearedat the same time–transhumanism.It can be regarded as the early posthumanism.Max More first gave transhumanism a complete definition:“Philosophies of life(such as the Extropian philosophy)that seek the continuation and acceleration of theevolution of intelligent life beyond its currently human form and limits by means ofscience and technology,guided by life-promoting principles and values,whileavoiding religion and dogma”(Pepperell,2003:170).Transhumanism is aninternational technological and cultural movement that concludes that science andtechnology is worth applying to fundamentally improve human conditions,especiallyto develop and manufacture widely available technologies to eliminate negativeproblems that are detrimental to human survival and development,such as disability,disease,pain,senlity and death,greatly improving human intellectual,physiologicaland psychological abilities.
Chapter Two Neuromancer and Posthuman Crises
2.1 Crisis of Human Subject
In the novel Neuromancer,Gibson depicted a postmodern society with highlydeveloped science and technology.Advanced biotechnology enables human tostrengthen physical functions and delay senility.Developed information technologyallows computer cowboys to roam in cyberspace and enjoy the happiness brought bythe virtual world.The boundary between man and machine becomes more and moreblurred,cyborgs,clones,genetically modified mans and other posthumans replacedhumans to become the masters of the world.The concept of“man”in classicalhumanism is deconstructed by technology.Meanwhile,posthumans’over-depende
