Transcendence of the Human Far Beyond AI—Kafka’s <i>In the Penal Colony</i> and Schopenhauerian Eschatology
Humanity has always aspired beyond the human. The technological development in recent decades has been extraordinary, leading to new attempts to overcome the all-too-human condition. We dream of conquering death, upgrading our bodies into perfect performance machines and enhancing our intelligence t...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Humanities |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/14/1/5 |
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| author | Søren Robert Fauth |
| author_facet | Søren Robert Fauth |
| author_sort | Søren Robert Fauth |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Humanity has always aspired beyond the human. The technological development in recent decades has been extraordinary, leading to new attempts to overcome the all-too-human condition. We dream of conquering death, upgrading our bodies into perfect performance machines and enhancing our intelligence through bio-nanotechnology. We are familiar with the side effects: alienation, stress, anxiety, depression. This article contends that Franz Kafka’s enigmatic oeuvre at its core harbors a yearning to transcend the human. Through a close reading of the narrative <i>In the Penal Colony</i>, it is demonstrated that this yearning is far more radical and uncompromising than the modern vision of extending and optimizing human life. Instead of the modern ego-concerned affirmation of life and the body that hides behind much of AI and modern technology, Kafka seeks a radical vision of total transformation and transcending the human into ‘nothingness’. The article shows that this transformation corresponds to core concepts in Arthur Schopenhauer’s philosophy, primarily his doctrine of the denial of the will to live and asceticism. Instead of the species-narcissistic affirmation of life and the body that lurks behind much of AI and modern technology, Kafka strives for a definitive overcoming of the life we desire. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7b4244ed369b4fcf89aa096930f93cdf |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-0787 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities |
| spelling | doaj-art-7b4244ed369b4fcf89aa096930f93cdf2025-01-24T13:34:49ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872025-01-01141510.3390/h14010005Transcendence of the Human Far Beyond AI—Kafka’s <i>In the Penal Colony</i> and Schopenhauerian EschatologySøren Robert Fauth0School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkHumanity has always aspired beyond the human. The technological development in recent decades has been extraordinary, leading to new attempts to overcome the all-too-human condition. We dream of conquering death, upgrading our bodies into perfect performance machines and enhancing our intelligence through bio-nanotechnology. We are familiar with the side effects: alienation, stress, anxiety, depression. This article contends that Franz Kafka’s enigmatic oeuvre at its core harbors a yearning to transcend the human. Through a close reading of the narrative <i>In the Penal Colony</i>, it is demonstrated that this yearning is far more radical and uncompromising than the modern vision of extending and optimizing human life. Instead of the modern ego-concerned affirmation of life and the body that hides behind much of AI and modern technology, Kafka seeks a radical vision of total transformation and transcending the human into ‘nothingness’. The article shows that this transformation corresponds to core concepts in Arthur Schopenhauer’s philosophy, primarily his doctrine of the denial of the will to live and asceticism. Instead of the species-narcissistic affirmation of life and the body that lurks behind much of AI and modern technology, Kafka strives for a definitive overcoming of the life we desire.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/14/1/5AISchopenhauerthe body as a key to insightdenial of the will to liveascetisminnate guilt |
| spellingShingle | Søren Robert Fauth Transcendence of the Human Far Beyond AI—Kafka’s <i>In the Penal Colony</i> and Schopenhauerian Eschatology Humanities AI Schopenhauer the body as a key to insight denial of the will to live ascetism innate guilt |
| title | Transcendence of the Human Far Beyond AI—Kafka’s <i>In the Penal Colony</i> and Schopenhauerian Eschatology |
| title_full | Transcendence of the Human Far Beyond AI—Kafka’s <i>In the Penal Colony</i> and Schopenhauerian Eschatology |
| title_fullStr | Transcendence of the Human Far Beyond AI—Kafka’s <i>In the Penal Colony</i> and Schopenhauerian Eschatology |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transcendence of the Human Far Beyond AI—Kafka’s <i>In the Penal Colony</i> and Schopenhauerian Eschatology |
| title_short | Transcendence of the Human Far Beyond AI—Kafka’s <i>In the Penal Colony</i> and Schopenhauerian Eschatology |
| title_sort | transcendence of the human far beyond ai kafka s i in the penal colony i and schopenhauerian eschatology |
| topic | AI Schopenhauer the body as a key to insight denial of the will to live ascetism innate guilt |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/14/1/5 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sørenrobertfauth transcendenceofthehumanfarbeyondaikafkasiinthepenalcolonyiandschopenhauerianeschatology |