"The machine/organism relationships are obsolete, unnecessary" writes Haraway. In what ways have our relations to machines been theorised?
Hacking, Ian, (1998), ‘Canguilhem Amid the Cyborgs’, Economy and Society, vol. 27, iss. 2/3, pp. 202
Available from: EBSCO Host [7 September 2010]
Based on a lecture given by the late Georges Canguilhem called ‘Machine et Organisme’ which explores many different ideas about the relationship between the machine and the organism. Canguilhem ultimately connected teleology and life – the idea that we could understand an aspect of an organism or organ only by considering what an aspect or organ was for, what purpose it served. Hacking continues to explain the thought process of Canguilhem going into detail about tools and machines being extensions of the body. “Tools and machines are kinds of organs and organs are kinds of tools and machines”. He uses the words ‘tubes’ and ‘springs’ as the inner workings of both organisms and machines. These theories are linked with the idea of free-standing machines and are provided with energy by human beings. Hacking uses these ideas and insights and discusses them with the recent meaning of cyborg. Drawing on the scholarly theories of Donna Haraway and Andrew Pickering, Hacking delves into the idea of the ‘cyborg’ and its links with Canguilhem’s ideas. There is great discussion on Donna Haraway’s idea of the cyborg as a genderless future. This article goes into great detail discussing more than one theory of the machine/organism relationship. Hacking shows us these developments thoroughly and determines that Haraway’s cyborg manifesto ‘wins the match’.
Available from: Sage Journals Online [7 September 2010]
A much more biological approach to the relationship of organism and machine. Elton discusses the relationship between people, animals and machines, that is to say, humans, animals and machines, grouping the organism. Beginning the article with a debate, Elton argues against the idea of reducing the biology (organism) to mechanism and then runs another argument linking psychology and biology, pulling on the philosophical approach. Concluding with “the difference between organisms and machines is one that involves normative alienation: the physics monitor versus the biology monitor”. He also goes on to conclude “one needs anything more than a collection of mechanistic parts, biochemical components, in order to make an animal or a person…”. Elton concludes that to bring an animal or person into being requires no more than a machine. If machine means the presence of a casual engine, natural or artificial, then machines and be people or animals. This relationship between organisms and machines by Elton is very biological and draws on psychology. A completely different way of representing this relationship and would be interesting to reference for the question: In what ways have our relations to machines been theorized?
Cyborgs, Virtual Bodies and Organic Bodies: Theoretical Feminist Responses
Hawthorne, S & Klein, R, 1999, Cyberfeminism, Cyborgs, Virtual Bodies and Organic Bodies: Theoretical Feminist Responses, Spinifex Press, North Melbourne
Hawthorne uses Donna Haraway’s definition of a cyborg and explains it herself as a “a body which crosses the boundary between human and machine. This is achieved when there is an insertion into the body of, or surrounding the body by, a mechanical or informational device”. This chapter of the book is circling around the idea of the cyborg and feminist ideologies. Brushing over the idea of the cyborg giving white men and other dominant culture individuals something to feel different. Hawthorne discusses the relationship between organism and machine from a feminist perspective using Haraway’s definitions when putting forward her argument and theories. She disputes the idea of cyborg consciousness and that prostheses, machines and other devices are neither gender, age or race neutral. It is a long article, which brings about many issues to do with organism/machine/feminism although it plays with other scholars theories they are discussed from the feminist point of view. This brings the theories new light and opens Haraway’s definition of cyborg into discussion.
Is the Concept of an Organism as a Machine a Useful One?
This article focuses on the idea of the organism as a machine. Rashevsky states that or organism has not yet been defined in a way that satisfies all criterions therefore we agree, “every one of us is an organism” and that a machine is one “where a purposeful creator was implied”. Firstly the question of machine and organism is answered scientifically, with only evidence. He ascertains the existence of a personal creator of a machine and is therefore proven useless. Rashevsky then looks at the contemporary approach where a specified organism or a clearly specified isomorphic is to a given specified machine. Many examples are given and Rashevsky concludes that “the notion of isomorphism between certain parts of some organisms and definite mechanical or electromechanical structures may be quite useful”. This article though quite dated explores the first idea of machine and organism relations both scientifically and philosophically. The theory of an organism being a machine is dabbled with and offers a different approach to this relationship.
Hybrid Architecture: An Environment for the Prosthetic Body
Available from: Sage Journals Online
Teyssot first discusses the inception of the term ‘robot’ and then brings into the questions the development of the second term ‘cyborg’ – part human, part alien type of automation. Tyssot goes on to discuss the cyborg culture and the dichotomies such as the obvious organism/machine and those that link such as public/private, nature/culture, virtual/real etc. Tyssot brings into light Donna Haraway’s cyborg manifesto and its development to define a new type of hybridity. “Todays organisms are constructions, the creations of the discourse of immunology.” The article goes into theoretical relations between body and environment, which is some part is discussed in relation to cyborg. This discussion of the relationship of organism, machine and the environment does not answer the question of machine/organism theory directly but definitely brings another point of view to the question, which would reinforce other theories.
(A few of these webliographys are journals which were retrieved through the UWA library, some may require you to log in with your student number and password. Other links from EBSCO Host may require a log in which is uwa and password also uwa)
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