생명-기술 병합의 포스트휴먼

A Posthuman of a Biotechnological Hybrid: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Dorian Gray and his picture can be interpreted as a biotechnological hybrid. The picture is a cognitive tool for Dorian to realize that he has a conscience and to keep his immortal youth. Cognitive scientists insist that the definition of body is negotiable and tools can also be regarded as parts of a body. Therefore, the picture is also a part of Dorian in posthumanism. The description of Dorian’s situation in the novel is similar to depiction about telepresence or virtual realities. He loves heroines in literature and explores slums away from high society. Without any realities, he doesn’t have any responsibilities for what he does. In fact, it is not real Dorian but Dorian in the picture to react to others. The concealment of the picture results in his inability to interact with others, which prevents him from building any relationships. The situation looks like the life in online virtual communities where human bodies can be hidden vice versa. People living in cyber world need multi-layered relationships to achieve subjectivity. Both of their bodies and cyber identities are important for that. Dorian fails to maintain posthuman subjectivity when he ignores the picture which is a part of his body.