Humanism, Posthumanism and Transhumanism in the East Asian Past and Present
International Conference, hosted by the Department of Asian Studies at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, and the European Association for Chinese Philosophy (EACP)
May 19-21, 2023.
Traditional European humanism focused on the white, Western, and male humans. Today it is experiencing bankruptcy in the face of profit- and market-oriented social paradigms. On the other hand, the ideas of subjectivity and humanism are among the central axiological foundations of modernization and form an important part of the European heritage of ideas that still prevails in the ideational foundations of modern social systems on a global scale, shaping and determining their intellectual, legal, and ideological paradigms. Therefore, the aspects of humanism that preserve and develop human dignity, integrity and the quality of human life must be revived, updated and adapted to the needs of our time. In today's globalized world, they must be brought into a fruitful relational, dialogical and dialectical relationship with similar and related traditions of non-European cultures. In this context, the conference will focus on the study of East Asian traditions.
Our discussions will concentrate on analyzes and interpretations of various Asian models of humanism, posthumanism, and transhumanism. We will therefore present your research on different views of human beings, their roles, functions, and agendas through the lens of East Asian studies. Among other issues, we will discuss the following topics:
- various culturally conditioned conceptions of the human Self and specifically Asian ways of conceptualizing human freedom and autonomy;
- alternative conceptions of personhood;
- critique of traditional humanism and introduction of different models of posthumanism;
- ecological humanism and posthumanism;
- different culturally conditioned models of interpersonal ethics and intersubjectivity;
- different critical approaches to anthropocentrism and different alternatives by which it can be replaced;
- the relationships between humans and the digital world and different digital identities;
- ideas and models of cyber-humanity: cyborgs, hybrid beings, and notions of multiple selves;
- avatars and the diversity of notions of personhood;
- ethics of biotechnologies and bioengineering, etc.
CONTACTS:
University of Ljubljana
Department of Asian Studies
Faculty of Arts,
Aškerčeva 2, Ljubljana
Secretary: Ms. Jasna Bavec
Email: jasna.bavec@ff.uni-lj.si
Tel.: 003861-241-1448
Professor Jana S. Rošker
Email: jana.rosker@ff.uni-lj.si
Mobile: 00386-31-792-574
Assistant Maja Maria Kosec
Email: MajaMaria.Kosec@ff.uni-lj.si
Mobile: 00386-51-664-599
Assoc. Professor Téa Sernelj
Email: tea.sernelj@ff.uni-lj.si
Mobile: 00386-41-681-377
