A Cyborg Manifesto by Donna Haraway - Reviewed by Tugrul Keskin

A Cyborg Manifesto by Donna Haraway

Reviewed by Tugrul Keskin 

Contemporary Political Theory-5214 Journal 12, November 18 2004

In her book, A Cyborg Manifesto, Donna Haraway argues that there has been an erosion of boundaries between the human and non-human and this new form in the stage of human development is called 'cyborg.' According to Haraway, Cyborg is part machine and part human.  According to her, today we are all cyborg. Additionally, in everyday life we are becoming more and more cyborg. In her book, She furthermore states that everyday we use more machines than before, and this new environment causes us to relate better to machine life than to human beings.  The end point of this process is that human behavior cannot be distinguished from that of machines. Walkmans, computers, cell phones, ipods, palm pilots, and other machines transform us into different human life in which the boundary between the physical and nonphysical are disappearing. This new
environment generates a new identity to the individual, and the machine we use suits our identity.  Her other important point in the book is that, “the idea of a Cyborg is intimately related to central postmodern/post structural concerns like communication, language, the code and writing.”[1]  For Haraway, the use of communication is a key element for today’s daily life.

Additionally, Donna Haraway’s illustration of the cyborg somehow relates us to our current life and relations to the machine/computer world. More technological advancements create an environment in which we, as human beings, associate ourselves with machines. The new environment has produced a human robot.  According to a national study, people who use more machines and computers, spend less time with friends and family members. This is the postmodern environment that has been created by human beings, and humans have
become slaves of his own creation. In this new social world, what predominates is something that Haraway describes as situated knowledge, a knowledge itself
that is transformed into some type of power and that generates its own dynamics
in the context of control over the society as well as the individual.

Identity is another important issue in her theory. In this new computerized
world, the machine we use becomes a part of our identity. We cannot disassociate
ourselves from the machine or computer. Cyborg is also a human identity.  To my
understanding of Haraway, her feminist perspective reminds us of Lyotard's view,
in which Lyotard stresses the importance of the technological impact on knowledge.  On the other hand, Haraway elaborates the identity of the human in a computerized society and the relationship between human and machine. In contrast to Lyotard, Haraway concentrates more on the individual level and feminism
issues.

Arguably, Haraway attempts to illustrate the idea of objectivity in the academic
world and furthermore argues that the objectivity of science impacts science
itself in a negative way. Haraway claims that, “objectivity is not about
dis-engagement, but about mutual and usually unequal structuring, about taking
risks in a world where 'we' are permanently mortal, that is, not in 'final'
control.”[2] According to the author, scientific objectivity helps us to
understand our social world as well as science.

In short, Haraway’s understanding of the social world is very much related with
the computerized environment.  Disagreeably, Haraway’s understanding of feminist
theory is based upon the biological differences between men and women.
Additionally, I do not believe that either scientific problems or the problems
that we are facing today have nothing to do with biological differences but are
rather related with economic inequalities and economic insecurities.

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[1] Ritzer, George. Postmodern Social Theory. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill, 1997, 193.

[2] Haraway, 199.