Richard S Lewis | University of Washington Bothell (original) (raw)

Uploads

Publications by Richard S Lewis

Perception and the Inhuman Gaze: Perspectives from Philosophy, Phenomenology, and the Sciences, 2020

This chapter brings a unique perspective to the inhuman gaze, identifying a component of our own ... more This chapter brings a unique perspective to the inhuman gaze, identifying a component of our own human perception that is transformed by technologies. It identifies and understands the transforming effect of technologies in our lives beyond their immediate use. The field of postphenomenology is ‘a nonfoundational and nontranscendental phenomenology which makes variational theory its most important methodological strategy’. The founder of this philosophical style of analysis, Don Ihde, describes it as phenomenology combined with pragmatism. Postphenomenology focuses on describing and understanding the ways in which our relations with specific technologies constitute ourselves, the technologies, and the world. The technological gaze is a mediating embodied relation based not upon the specific technological objects in-use, but on the transformations of the subject that occur because of those objects.

It seems paradoxical that the name of the new geologic age might be the Anthropocene while conver... more It seems paradoxical that the name of the new geologic age might be the Anthropocene while converging NBIC technologies are advancing to the point where some transhumanists are predicting that humanity will potentially be evolving into a new post-human species in the next 50-100 years. New technologies, such as 3D printing of body parts and genetic engineering, bring about both exciting and potentially disturbing future scenarios. Transhumanists and bioconservatives bring opposing views to this human enhancement debate. However, they both start from a dualistic point of view, keeping the subject and object separate. The philosophical field of postphenomenology is an effective approach for pragmatically and empirically grounding the human enhancement debate, providing tools such as embodied technological relations, the non-neutrality of technology, enabling and constraining aspects of all technologies, and the false dream of a perfectly transparent technology. There is a certain amount of irony in referring to the current geologic age as the Anthropocene. The rhetoric from transhumanists suggests that we are nearing a point with converging technologies where we will be able to greatly transform our species. Though humans have used technology to enhance and modify themselves throughout much of our history (i.e., tattoos, piercings, false teeth, eyeglasses, prosthetic limbs, etc.), recent advances in Nano, Biological, and Informational technologies, as well as the Cognitive sciences, collectively referred to as NBIC, create the ability to eradicate many diseases, dramatically increase the human lifespan, and allow us to choose the genetic make-up of our children, culminating in the possibility of transcending, or evolving, beyond what it means to be human. For the transhumanists (Bostrom; Kurzweil; Moravec; More), the notion of becoming something other-than-human is considered to be a positive development that should be embraced. Transhumanists propose that our survival as humans depends upon advancing ourselves as best we can, and there is no reason we should remain subject to limited and faulty bodies if alternatives exist. Counter to this Glimpse vol. 19 80 argument, the bioconservatives (Fukuyama; Habermas; Sandel) feel that transhumanism threatens the very essence of what it means to be human, even going so far as to call it the most dangerous idea in the world (Fukuyama, " Transhumanism "). Bioconservatives strongly advocate for regulations against unrestricted use of NBIC technologies. Both sides are acting in the best interest of their notion of humanity. This paper will explore the concept of human enhancement through the lens of postphenomenology to analyze how new technologies mediate our lifeworld experience. Personally, I vacillate between excitement and concern over the benefits and drawbacks for the profound capacities promised by these technologies. Typically, technology happens in incremental steps, a gradual progression, albeit with an occasionally disruptive invention such as the printing press coming along. However, NBIC advancements now appear to be following more of a Kurzweilian exponential growth model, making it more difficult to dismiss some of the transhumanist claims (Kurzweil). Take for instance the recent 3D printed human ear experiment, where the printed ear was attached to a mouse and began to develop (Kang et al.). Will we soon get to the point where we can print a repaired version of our heart and then have it implanted into us? Or, will we be able to take a " pill " with nanobots that are programmed to clean the plaque from our veins, transfer minute amounts of chemo directly to cancerous cells, or even potentially repair internal damage? What happens if/when we reach the ultimate transhumanist goal of being able to upload our minds and memories to a computer? Could we then transfer them to a 3D printed version of our younger selves, thereby creating the opportunity for a fresh, biological reset, a kind of technological sip from the metaphorical fountain of youth? These new human enhancement technologies challenge us to try and make sense of what it means to be human. Postphenomenology, a philosophy based in pragmatism, is well suited to take a grounded look at human enhancement issues. Integrating postphenomenology into the human enhancement debate can address shortcomings from both transhumanists and bioconservatives and will improve our ability to understand key issues. BACKGROUND

Kunstlicht, 2017

While some have viewed selfies as superficial or self-indulgent, museum selfies can be creative a... more While some have viewed selfies as superficial or self-indulgent, museum selfies can be creative and imaginative ways of interacting with museum objects. This may challenge the concept of the more traditional museum experience, but it is supported by current museum research, which posits that the primary reason visitors go to museums is to create their identity. It may seem paradoxical that a person engages with museum objects in a meaningful way by turning their back to them, but that is precisely what happens when they take a museum selfie. Selfies, both as a practice and as objects, can also help reduce what is known as the museum effect. Postphenomenology, a field within the philosophy of technology, can provide several tools to help understand the technological mediating effects that selfies have on how the visitor relates to museum objects, including multistability—the notion that selfies do not have a single meaning—and the enabling and constraining effects of any technology. These ideas are exemplified through the author’s museum selfies and how the technologies of the museum and smartphone mediated his experience.

Book Reviews by Richard S Lewis

Postdigital Science and Education, 2021

In Mark Coeckelbergh’s recent book, Moved by Machines: Performance Metaphors and Philosophy of Te... more In Mark Coeckelbergh’s recent book, Moved by Machines: Performance Metaphors and Philosophy of Technology (2019), a number of performance metaphors are used to delve deeply into understanding human-technology relations beyond an artefact-based approach often used in philosophy of technology. This is in order to ‘understand and evaluate what we do with technology and what technology does with us’ (Coeckelbergh 2019: 1). In each chapter, a different metaphor is investigated, moving from dance, theatre, music, stage magic, and finally to thinking itself. The metaphors are used to reveal ‘more ways in which technology contributes to the creation of meaning and indeed more meanings of technology itself’ (76). This book is an important read for anyone interested in philosophy of technology,
especially through the lens of a performative turn.

Book review of The Ethics of Ordinary Technology, by Michel Puech.

Organized Conferences by Richard S Lewis

Books by Richard S Lewis

Technology, Media Literacy, and the Human Subject: A Posthuman Approach, 2021

We are mediated by and immersed in a world where information and communication technologies (ICTs... more We are mediated by and immersed in a world where information and communication technologies (ICTs) are undergoing accelerated innovation. From hardware like smartphones, smartwatches, and home assistants to software like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, our lives have become inextricably entwined with a complex, interconnected network of relations. Scholarship on media literacy has tended to focus on developing the skills to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media messages without considering or weighing the impact of the technological medium and the broader context.

What does it mean to be media literate in today’s world? How are we transformed by the many media infrastructures around us?

These issues are addressed through the creation of a transdisciplinary approach that allows for both practical and theoretical analyses of media investigations. Informed by postphenomenology, media ecology, philosophical posthumanism, and complexity theory the author proposes a framework and a pragmatic instrument for understanding the multiplicity of relations that all contribute to how we affect—and are affected by—our relations with media technology. The increased awareness provided by this posthuman approach affords us a greater chance for reclaiming some of our agency by providing a sound foundation upon which we can then judge our media relations.

Papers by Richard S Lewis

Michel Puech has written an illuminating philosophical book on the ethics of technology and provi... more Michel Puech has written an illuminating philosophical book on the ethics of technology and provided a practical guide for how to interact and live with ordinary technology on a daily basis. He has combined Eastern and Western philosophies with pragmatism to create a sapiential (wisdom-based) technoethics. Through his list of fundamental wisdom practices and his focus on microactions, Puech explains how people can retain their subjectivity and care for the Self even while deluged by new and ubiquitous technologies. Puech’s insights draw upon a deep and varied philosophical background. His intention for the book “is to return to concrete issues, beyond the well-known discourse of technophilia, which is so natural in engineering philosophy, and the equally well-known plea for technophobia, which is so frequent in the humanities and social critique” (7). Puech illustrates his views on technology by quoting Kranzberg, who states, “Technology is not good or bad. Nor is it neutral” (2). P...