A CRITICAL APPROACH TO TRANSHUMANIST IDEALS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF GREG EGAN’S “THE EXTRA”

Abstract

Australian science-fiction author Greg Egan’s short story, “The Extra” (1990) envisions a transhumanist future in which the use of human clones as organ donors and the transplantation of human brains’ into clones’ bodies with the aim of extending the human lifespan are made possible. This study aims to present a critical transhumanist analysis of Egan’s “The Extra” in order to provide insight into how the transhumanist technologies of cloning and transplantation hold the potential to engender detrimental outcomes for human life both at the individual and social level. This study will demonstrate that the radical interventions in the interdependence of the body and the mind via transhumanist technologies could disrupt the integrity of human identity by alienating the individual from a unified sense of self. In addition to this, it will also be concluded that a transhumanist society may pose the risk of not only deepening the hierarchical gap between those who have access to enhancement technologies and those who do not but also exploiting the clones as a new victimized and marginalized group.