Love and hope: affective labor and posthuman relations in Klara and The Sun

Du, Lanlan

doi:10.1007/s11059-022-00671-9

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 4 publications

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“…The conflict between science and humanities, famously referred to as the divorce between two cultures by Charles Percy Snow, is a recurring theme in Ishiguro's novels, particularly evident in Klara and the Sun and Never Let Me Go (Ishiguro, 2010). Both stories show the confusion induced by this clash between intellectuals, resulting, first, in skepticism toward any supposedly authoritative opinion, and, second, in a practical relativism (Vichiensing, 2017;Du, 2022). However, the diagnosis of practical relativism linked to the absence of prevailing worldviews is not only voiced by intellectuals denouncing the crisis of modernity but also by postmodern philosophers who theoretically justify this relativism.…”

Section: Poetic Pragmatismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring moral perception and mind uploading in Kazuo Ishiguro's ‘Klara and the Sun': ethical-aesthetic perspectives on identity attribution in artificial intelligence

Echarte Alonso

2023

Front. Commun.

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Literature wields a profound influence on our cognitive processes, shaping not only how we think but also what we think about. Aesthetic experiences, in particular, seem to foster a positive impact on our ability to comprehend complexity. This influence underscores the significant role of literature in the exploration of value learning and ethics research, because evaluating any decision-making requires seeking the widest possible frame of reference. Furthermore, literature plays a pivotal role in enriching our perception of both the external world and our inner selves, thereby fostering a heightened sense of ethical discernment. In this paper, I explore this last idea by examining Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun. In this enquiry, I reveal connections between two crucial controversies surrounding mind uploading: the epistemological debate centered on the theory of moral perception and the ontological inquiry into personal identity. Researching the intersection of these two big issues guide my decision to employ conceptual synthesis as the methodological framework. Besides, I will argue that the ideas of moral perception and personal identity that emerges in Ishiguro's dystopia are in tune with the narrativist hypothesis of Charles Taylor. In my conclusions, I defend that prospect of replacing a human being with a robot hinges on the challenge of instilling the machine with a unique moral perception. This remains an elusive goal, perhaps perpetually so, due to the inherent impossibility of objectifying a machine capable of apprehending and processing the non-objective qualities of matter. Furthermore, even if we were able to create such a machine, it would likely resist assuming a substitutive role, as it would quickly discover and appreciate its own existence. Finally, I ponder the implications of mistaking a simulation of human for an authentic replica, namely, an unsuccessful and unnoticed attempt at mind uploading—loneliness.

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Section: Poetic Pragmatismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring moral perception and mind uploading in Kazuo Ishiguro's ‘Klara and the Sun': ethical-aesthetic perspectives on identity attribution in artificial intelligence

Echarte Alonso

2023

Front. Commun.

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Posthuman Cosmopolitanism and Post-COVID-19 Sensitivities in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and The Sun

Toprak Sakız

2023

Culture and Economics in Contemporary Cosmopolitan Fiction

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12Posthumanism

Nayar¹

2023

The Year's Work in Critical and Cultural Theory

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Varieties of posthumanism in literature and popular culture received sustained attention, as expected, in 2022. Human–nonhuman relationships, whether in terms of the human–animal or human–artificial-being relationship; issues of care for/of the nonhuman; theological debates around posthumanism, especially with regard to rituals, practices of belief, and the ‘digital afterlife’; and the different genealogies of the posthuman, were themes that informed a large number of essays and books. This chapter aims for a comprehensive survey of the year’s work and is organized around six sections that seek to summarize the major contributions to work in posthumanism: 1. Theorizing Posthumanism; 2. Literary Posthumanisms; 3. Popular Posthumanisms; 4. Posthumanism and the Disciplines; 5. The Nonhuman; and 6. Posthumanism after the Pandemic.

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Love and hope: affective labor and posthuman relations in Klara and The Sun

Cited by 7 publications

References 4 publications

Exploring moral perception and mind uploading in Kazuo Ishiguro's ‘Klara and the Sun': ethical-aesthetic perspectives on identity attribution in artificial intelligence

Exploring moral perception and mind uploading in Kazuo Ishiguro's ‘Klara and the Sun': ethical-aesthetic perspectives on identity attribution in artificial intelligence

Posthuman Cosmopolitanism and Post-COVID-19 Sensitivities in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and The Sun

12Posthumanism

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