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Abstract
Hermínio Martins was one of the key pioneers of the sociology of science and technology. He published extensively in Portuguese and was recognized for his academic contributions with an honorary doctorate at Lisbon (2006) and two Portuguese Medals of Honour. Following his retirement from the University of Oxford, he wrote prolifically in English on a wide range of topics that examined the ethical and societal consequences of the commoditization of the human body and mind. These essays are deep philosophical reflections on our contemporary world, and draw extensively and eclectically upon a wide range of theoretical influences including continental philosophy, history and psychology, to name but a few disciplines. ‘The Technocene’ is a selection of some of these insightful essays, made available to a global audience for the first time.
‘This superb collection of selected essays by Hermínio Martins is a timely contribution to ongoing debates on the transformations of the human condition and the very future of the human species.’
—Jose Esteban Castro, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Newcastle University, UK, and Principal Researcher, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Argentina
‘The Technocene will inaugurate nothing short of a new and fertile research tradition in sociology, specifically in the philosophical sociology of technology.’
—Bridget Fowler, Co-editor of Time, Science and the Critique of Technological Reason: Essays in Honour of Hermínio Martins and Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Glasgow, Scotland
‘Marked by an unprecedented confluence of bodies, markets and technology, the notion of Technocene is the harbinger of the Anthropocene. Professor Hermínio Martins’s final essays, nearly lost to time, are brought to life in this caringly produced posthumous collection.’
—Nicholas J. Rowland, Associate Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies, Pennsylvania State University, USA
S. Ravi Rajan is professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, USA.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | Cover 1 | ||
| Front Matter | i | ||
| Half-title | i | ||
| Title page | iii | ||
| Copyright information | iv | ||
| Dedication | v | ||
| Table of contents | vii | ||
| Preface | ix | ||
| Editor's Introduction: Hermínio Martins and the Technocene | xi | ||
| Chapters 1-5 | 1 | ||
| Chapter One The Technocene: On Bodies, Minds and Markets | 1 | ||
| Introduction | 1 | ||
| The Body | 1 | ||
| Birth | 1 | ||
| Gametes and Wombs | 4 | ||
| Genes | 9 | ||
| Viscera | 11 | ||
| Stimulation | 18 | ||
| Ageing | 19 | ||
| Death and Beyond | 22 | ||
| Social Institutions | 27 | ||
| Schools, Universities and Firms | 27 | ||
| Firms | 34 | ||
| Church and State | 37 | ||
| Data and Information | 42 | ||
| Armies and Police | 45 | ||
| Conclusions | 47 | ||
| Notes | 47 | ||
| Chapter Two Technology Sublime: Paths to the Post-Human | 51 | ||
| The Neo-human | 60 | ||
| The Meta-human | 62 | ||
| The Trans-human | 65 | ||
| Notes | 72 | ||
| Chapter Three Perpetual Augmentation: From Eugenics to Human Genetic Capitalism | 89 | ||
| Slippery Slopes and the Appraisal of Reproductive Technologies | 92 | ||
| Homo Heterarchicus | 96 | ||
| The Ratchet Effect, ‘Reverse Serendipity’ and Adiaphorization | 97 | ||
| Eugenics | 100 | ||
| A Typology of Eugenics: Mark I, Mark II, Mark III Eugenics | 106 | ||
| Human Being as His/Her Own GMO: The Coming of (Trans)Genetic Capitalism | 106 | ||
| Notes | 115 | ||
| Chapter Four The Body Vanishes! Momenta of Discarnation in Technoscience Today | 131 | ||
| Notes | 149 | ||
| Chapter Five When Universities Become Body-Shops | 159 | ||
| A Bias towards a Bimodal Distribution of Resources and Rewards for Universities | 164 | ||
| A Bias towards a Bimodal Distribution of Resources and Rewards for Academics | 165 | ||
| Notes | 171 | ||
| End Matter | 187 | ||
| References | 187 | ||
| Index | 199 |