Biology, Technology & Society
Techno-Cultural Environments and the Strong Thesis of the Metaphoric Body
In this article I will define, examine and expand the thesis of the Metaphoric Body. The thesis is based first and foremost on the ideas of Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980). In his work McLuhan focused on the study of media and technology and their impact on human perception and society. He identified the Man-made environment as an extension or prosthesis of the body and studied the interaction between the two domains, the body and the Man-made environment, as a bidirectional, metaphoric interaction.
The interaction can be defined as follows: (a) technology is modeled on the body, i.e., we reshape the environment and design artificial environments as functional extensions of the body (b) the body is modified perceptually, conceptually, theoretically and even physically due to the interaction. This interaction is manifested in the body machine metaphor, whose development I examine using McLuhan’s insights.
The thesis deals with the following topics: Marshall McLuhan, the body-machine, history of biology, metaphors and science, metaphors and technology.
Appendix (in additional file): Tables showing the development of the body-machine metaphor in the life sciences from the early modern age to our times.
McLuhan's Theory and the Metaphorical Construction of the Body in the Life Sciences (PhD Thesis)
In this work I explore the interrelationships between metaphors, techno-cultural environments and theories in the life sciences. Essentially, the thesis of the Metaphoric Body deals with a multi-directional interactive metaphor. Technologies, according to the main theme of this thesis, are prostheses that are modeled on the body, and at the same time they redesign the body perceptually, conceptually, theoretically and physically (see fig. 0.1).
Human perception depends on grand-metaphorical frameworks: on the one hand, techno-cultural environments are created by metaphorical thinking; on the other hand, the same techno-cultural environments reshape the metaphorical perception. Science is an integral part of this process, both as an important factor in the development of techno-culture and as a field of knowledge which is influenced by techno-culture.
The thesis deals with the following topics: Marshall McLuhan, the body-machine, history of biology, metaphors and science, metaphors and technology.
The Reciprocal Interaction between the Two Domains of the
Body↔Machine Metaphor
