Beyond Humanism: Trans- and PosTHumanism JenseiTs des Humanismus: Trans- und PosTHumanismus Edited by / Herausgegeben von Stefan Lorenz Sorgner Editorial Board: H. James Birx Irina Deretic James J. Hughes Andy Miah Domna Pastourmatzi Evi Sampanikou Vol. / Bd. 4 PETER LANG Frankfurt am Main · Berlin · Bern · Bruxelles · New York · Oxford · Wien Sartre and Posthumanist Humanism Elizabeth Butterfield PETER LANG Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften Bibliographic Information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. Cover Design: © Olaf Gloeckler, Atelier Platen, Friedberg Cover image: “Aquarius”, printed with kind permission of Joana Coccarelli. ISSN 2191-0391 ISBN 978-3-631-61675-8 © Peter Lang GmbH Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften Frankfurt am Main 2012 All rights reserved. All parts of this publication are protected by copyright. Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution. This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming, and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems. www.peterlang.de For Matilda and Charlie Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................................................... 9 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 1: Materiality in Human Existence: The Practico-Inert, Scarcity, and Needs ....................................................................................... 27 Chapter 2: Reconceptualizing the Individual and the Social: The Theory of Objective Spirit ...................................................... 41 Chapter 3: The Co-Constitution of the Individual and the Social .................. 63 Chapter 4: Problems and Possibilities for Human Relationships .................... 81 Chapter 5: The Posthuman Condition and Difference: The Nature of Social Identities ...................................................... 99 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 129 Bibliography .................................................................................................... 133 7 Acknowledgements You’ve likely heard the proverb, “it takes a village to raise a child.” Well, taking seriously the claim that the social enables individual praxis, I have come to feel that it also takes a village to write a book. I know that I have benefited from the support of so many people in so many different circles of life through the years, and when I consider this, I am warmed, humbled, and incredibly grateful. In particular, I would like to thank two of my former professors and mentors whom I am also grateful to call friends, Tom Flynn and Cindy Willett. I have learned so much from their work as philosophers as well as from their personal examples, and I thank them for their great generosity. Of course, any and all shortcomings of this work are mine alone. I would also like to thank the members of the North American Sartre Society, who warmly welcomed me when I was just a young graduate student, and who have provided a wonderful community of friends and scholars in the many years since. And I thank my colleagues at Georgia Southern University, and especially my department chair David Dudley, who have all been consistently supportive as I have attempted to balance my life as a professor and scholar with my life as a mother. Though I never would have guessed that I would settle down among the cy- press swamps and cotton fields of the rural southern U.S., my family and I have found such a wonderful and supportive progressive community in Statesboro, Georgia. I am so thankful for this new home and for the many friendships here that nurture and sustain us. I am also especially grateful to the many ladies who have volunteered to come over and play with our new baby for a little bit while this book was in progress. Near the conclusion of this project, my partner and co-parent, Hans-Georg Er- ney, spent many fun but exhausting days on his own with our two young children so that I could have the time and space I needed to write. I thank you, Hansi, with all of my heart, for your love and support, for your editing prowess, and for your inexhaustible wit. I am also grateful to my children for bringing me such joy, and for reminding me every day with their grins and giggles, in the words of Pierre Hadot, “n’oublie pas de vivre.” Though of course, when they say it, it sounds more like “weee!” Much of the initial writing of this manuscript was done in the home of Kirsten Erney, at a window overlooking her garden below. Through her living example she taught me a great deal about the connection of the individual and the social, 9 about the good life, and about the importance of frische Luft. This book, and my life, bear the mark of her enduring presence. Finally, it may seem odd, but I would like to express my indebtedness to and gratitude for Sartre’s philosophy itself. For more than half of my life, I have been inspired by Sartre’s call to create a meaningful life and to take responsibility for making our world a better place. And now in my teaching, I have the great joy of returning to these texts anew each semester as I introduce them to my students. As my colleague Bill Eaton keeps reminding me, we have one of the best jobs in the world! 10