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Death, Humanity and Existence

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Death and the Machine

Abstract

In this chapter, I discuss the significance of death in regards to understanding humanity and existence. I examine how the fear of death is seen to define humanity, and is often understood as a uniquely biological phenomenon. This chapter also discusses the development of transhumanism , with robots becoming more human-like, and humans becoming more machine-like in their quest for immortality . Such developments are radically altering the conventional understanding of what it means to be a human and what it means to die. While the parameters of humanity are being amended to potentially include machines, the notion of death itself is also being reconfigured to potentially accommodate a non-biological death.

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Correspondence to Siobhan Lyons .

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Lyons, S. (2018). Death, Humanity and Existence. In: Death and the Machine. Palgrave Pivot, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0335-7_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0335-7_2

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-0334-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-0335-7

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