Posthuman Rights: Dimensions of Transhuman Worlds

Abstract

There are at least three dimensions to rights. We may have and lack freedom to 1) be, 2) do, and 3) have. These dimensions reformulate Locke’s categories, and are further complicated by placing them within the context of domains such as natural or civil rights. Here the question of the origins of rights is not addressed, but issues concerning how we may contextualize them are discussed. Within the framework developed, this paper makes use of Actor-Network Theory and Enlightenment values to examine the multidimensionality and appropriateness of animal rights and human rights for posthumans.  The core position here is that rights may be universal and constant, but they can only be accessed within a matrix of relative cultural dimensions.  This will be true for posthumans, and their rights will be relative to human rights and dependent on human and posthuman responsibilities.