This essay collection is a fascinating, thorough, and intellectually stimulating analysis of Stefan Lorenz Sorgner’s theoretical frameworks and conceptualizations of Euro-transhumanism, metahumanism, and the philosophy of posthuman art. The contributors address the most challenging philosophical, ethical, and aesthetic issues in the field of trans-, critical post- and metahumanism, such as debates concerning Nietzsche as a weak proto-transhumanist, potential risks and benefits of artificial intelligence, brain-computer interfaces and (bio)enhancements, ecological crises, space travel, the use of human embryos for artistic purposes, robots as artists, humans as cyborgs, and more. This collection provides a critical introduction to Sorgner’s philosophy as well as a complex intellectual engagement with the field of posthuman studies. It is a rich reflective journey for all those interested in technology, ethics, art, and the posthuman paradigm shift.

Aura Elena Schussler is a lecturer at Babes-Bolyai University’s Department of Philosophy, Faculty of History and Philosophy. Since 2020, she has been in charge of organizing the Human Nature, Culture, Technology (NUCT) series of national conferences (in Romania) at Babes-Bolyai University’s Faculty of History and Philosophy. At the same University, in 2018, she set up the student circle of transhumanism, posthumanism, and metahumanism. Among her primary research areas are the posthuman, technology, human enhancement, sexbots, eroticism, and pornography. She wrote several articles on topics related to trans-/posthumanism, religion, and sexuality published in well-known international journals. She is the author of two books, written in Romanian:  Obscenul ca valoare postmodernă (Casa Cărții de Știință, 2013) and Dintre ale corpului și minții: despre Seducție, Erotism și Pornografie (Casa Cărții de Știință, 2011).

Maurizio Balistreri is Associate Professor in Moral Philosophy and Bioethics at the Department of Linguistic and Literary, Historical, Philosophical and Legal Studies (DISTU) of the University of Tuscia (Viterbo). He was Chair of the Turin Bioethics Lab and is Editor of the Icaro book series (Fandango). His main research interests include bioethics, applied ethics, robot ethics and ethics of artificial intelligence. He has published on different topics of bioethics, applied ethics, moral philosophy and space travelling. His latest books are Il Bambino migliore? Che cosa significa essere genitori responsabili al tempo del genome editing (Fandango, 2022), Superumani. Etica e potenziamento (Espress 2011; 2020); Sex robot. Love in the Age of Machines (Fandango 2018; Malpaso 2021; Trivent 2022), Il futuro della riproduzione umana (Fandango 2016), La clonazione umana prima di Dolly (Mimesis 2015). He is co-author of Biotecnologie e organismi modificati. Scienza, etica e diritto (Il Mulino 2020).

STEFAN LORENZ SORGNER is a philosophy professor at John Cabot University in Rome, Director and Co-Founder of the Beyond Humanism Network, Fellow at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET), Research Fellow at the Ewha Institute for the Humanities at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, academic Advisor of Humanity+,  and Visiting Fellow at the Ethics Centre of the Friedrich-Schiller-University in Jena. He is editor of more than 10 essay collections, and author of the following monographs: Metaphysics without Truth (Marquette University Press 2007), Menschenwürde nach Nietzsche(WBG 2010), Transhumanismus (Herder 2016), Schöner neuer Mensch (Nicolai, 2018), Übermensch (Schwabe 2019), On Transhumanism (Penn State University Press 2020), We have always been cyborgs (Bristol University Press 2022), Philosophy of Posthuman Art (Schwabe 2022), Transhumanismus (mit Philip von Becker, Westendverlag 2023), Homo ex Machina  (together with Bernd Kleine-Gunk, Goldmann 2023). In addition, he is Editor-in-Chief and Founding Editor of the “Journal of Posthuman Studies” (a double-blind peer review journal, published by Penn State University Press since 2017). Furthermore, he is in great demand as a speaker in all parts of the world (World Humanities Forum, Global Solutions Taipei Workshop, Biennale Arte Venezia, TEDx, Colours of Ostrava) and a regular contact person of national and international journalists and media representatives (Die Zeit, Cicero, Der Standard; Die Presse am Sonntag, Philosophy Now, Il Sole 24 Ore). www.sorgner.de & www.mousike.de

ABOUT STEFAN LORENZ SORGNER AND HIS RESEARCH

On Übermensch (2019) 

"In Stefan Lorenz Sorgner’s work, the profound originality is accompanied by a vast knowledge of the philosophical tradition. His exploration of the philosophical meanings of post-humanism has become a point of reference that contemporary culture cannot ignore." 

       Gianni Vattimo, University of Turin 

On Transhumanismus (2016) 

"Stefan Lorenz Sorgner counts as one of the worldwide leading experts on trans- and posthumanism." 

       Wolfgang Welsch, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena 

On We have always been Cyborgs (2022) 

"An eye-opening, wide-ranging and all-inclusive study of transhumanism. Sorgner’s account avoids both the utopian trap and the bogeyman spectre. He makes a compelling case for placing ourselves on the transhuman spectrum. How we continue to use technologies is in our hands. Sorgner’s book is both a comprehensive introduction to transhumanist thought and a clear-sighted vision for its future realisation." 

        Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford 

"With an encyclopaedic knowledge of transhumanism and a deep philosophical grounding, especially in Nietzschean thought, Stefan Sorgner tackles some of the most challenging ethical issues currently discussed, including gene editing, digital data collection, and life extension, with uncommon good sense and incisive conclusions. This study is one of the most detailed and comprehensive analyses available today. Highly recommended for anyone interested in transhumanist/posthumanist ideas and in these issues generally."  

       N. Katherine Hayles, University of California, Los Angeles  

On Philosophy of Posthuman Art (2022) 

"A deeply considered survey of the posthuman future of art. Sorgner’s philosophy of posthumanism provides a path away from the dominant 20th-century aesthetics that still inform our conception of art today. Through the innovative concept of the ‘twist,’ Sorgner’s encyclopedic text frames posthumanism as the foundation of an anti-totalitarian future of art."              

       Eduardo Kac 

"Philosophy of Posthuman Art impressively examines the aesthetics of　the monstrous, of hybridity, of smoothness and of the amorphous, to name a few. It is an articulate and informed analysis not only of particular artworks but also their philosophical underpinnings of Critical Posthumanism, Transhumanism and Metahumanism. It not only includes examples of bioart, body art, performance art and cryptoart, but also techno, digital and cyborg music. It is a time when we transition from the ontology of Being to the ontology of Becoming. We are now in a liminal age of the hybrid and the chimera. And as Stefan Lorenz Sorgner reminds us, with a twist, we have always been cyborgs."   

       Stelarc