The current self-image of the human being is marked by a deep ambivalence. On the one hand, humans believe they possess god-like powers, enabling them to create superior intelligence, artificial life, or even artificial consciousness. On the other hand, there is a profound pessimism, coupled with a sense of human self-contempt. Posthumanism, for example, in its more radical variants, calls for the abdication of humanity, which is ideally to be dethroned by its own artificial offspring.

In this lecture, Psychiatrist and Philosopher Prof. Dr. Thomas Fuchs traces the development of this ambivalence, beginning with the early mo­dern period, back to a vacillation between feelings of omnipotence and experiences of powerlessness—an oscillation ultimately rooted in a collec­tive narcissism: We attempt to compensate for an inner void by constructing an idealized self-image and by mirroring ourselves in anthropomorphic machines, in digital intelligence, and in virtual images. In light of this development, Fuchs advocates for a new humanism of the person—one grounded in our embodied existence, our intercorporeality with others, and our embeddedness in an ecological life-world.

Dr. Fuchs’ lecture is followed by a response offered by Dr. Hanne De Jaegher (visiting fellow at the University of Sussex).