Cybernetics and Human Intelligence: A Case Study of the Variable Man by Philip K. Dick

Abstract

The paper tries to show the line of demarcation between man and posthuman with regards to their intellect and bodily simulation. Man is man; machine can’t replace him. Robots, cyborgs and ultrasonic technological artifact can’t be a substitute to human intellect. Human intellect can be transferred and downloaded like some data but human consciousness is something unique and non-transferable. The novel The Variable Man by Philip K.Dick has been exploited to prove the point. Hayles’s (1999) theory of Posthuman helps to probe the issue of the new form of human identity titled as posthuman. The research shows that technology is becoming the subject by turning man into an object which is called posthuman by Hayles. She provides a detailed theoretical discussion on the issue of cybernetic identities and the complexities of being posthuman. The research implicates whatever the development may be there in the field of robot technology and cyborgs, human power of reasoning and consciousness are still unsurpassable.