ON ARCHITECTURE
— PHILOSOPHY OF
ARCHITECTURE
10th International Conference and Exhibition
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Gallery of Science and Technology
Belgrade, Serbia
Theofanis Tasis, KEYNOTER
Theofanis Tasis areas of specialization include Political and Moral Philosophy, New Media Philosophy and Transhumanism. Theofanis is teaching Contemporary Practical Philosophy at the Alpen- Adria Universität and is a visiting Professor at the University of St. Gallen.
Radical Design: Human Enhancement and the Iconistic Polis
Abstract
Transhumanism developed as a philosophy that became a cultural movement and is now regarded as a growing field of study. It is a complex mix of philosophical anthropology and philosophy of technology that brings together diverse problems from various fields such as philosophy, social sciences, cultural studies, neuroscience, information science, biomedical science, molecular biology and artificial intelligence. Transhumanism aims at modifying and upgrading human beings through technology claiming that biological evolution is incomplete and without direction. Although it adopts elements of humanism such as rationality, self-knowledge, self-care, autonomy and self-creation it does so with reference to the ideal of the creation of a new human species. The aim of the talk is to provide an overview of transhumanism by examining a) its historical roots, core values, goals and principles and b) its moral, political and aesthetic aspects. Furthermore, we will seek to understand transhumanism in the context of the iconistic polis.
Short Biography
Theofanis Tasis is teaching Contemporary Practical Philosophy at the Alpen- Adria Universität and is a visiting Professor at the University of St. Gallen. His areas of specialization include Political and Moral Philosophy, New Media Philosophy and Transhumanism. His monograph Castoriadis, a philosophy of autonomy published in Greece by Eurasia Publications won the Kaftantzogleio Prize of the University of Athens in 2008 and is now in its second edition. His book Digital Humanism: The iconistic subject and artificial intelligence published by Armos Publications (2019) explores the notion of a digital humanism as an alternative to the challenges presented by transhumanism and artificial intelligence is now in its third edition and was shortlisted for the National Book Award in Greece. In Politics of Bios II: The care of the self in the iconistic society published by Armos Publications (2017) the second part of a planned trilogy and now in its third edition he explores Philosophy as an art of living in regard to New Media. The first part Politics of Bios: On Irony published by Eurasia Publications (2012) examines the relation of the private and public sphere in terms of the body and human senses and the political and ethical function of irony. It won the Kaftantzogleio Prize of the University of Athens in 2013. His latest book Philosophy of Human Enhacement published by Armos Publications (2021) discusses the desirability and the political and ethical consequences of human enhancement criticizing Transhumanism and Technological Posthumanism as ideologies. He has also translated and edited books by Martin Heidegger, John Stewart Mill, Alexander Nehamas and Roberto Unger into greek. Theofanis Tasis is a member of the Humanistische Akademie Berlin and the Greek Philosophical Society.