Introduction: A Posthuman Objective

Abstract

Murnane presents a concise version of his book’s central philosophical discussion: the ways in which posthumanism, and Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, can be considered in tandem. In Rand, the role of the mind as man’s key asset—indeed, essence—is foregrounded. A similar belief in the mind as human essence underlies much posthumanist thought. Moreover, Rand’s system is marked by an intellectual investment in technology, an assertion that technological progress is at the heart of humanity’s worth. Her descriptions of technological creations as the physical embodiments of human thought, can be seen as a precursor to posthumanist ideas of the “self” as not necessarily limited to the organic body. For these reasons and others elaborated here, Objectivism can be understood as supporting a posthuman vision.