Organizational Posthumanism

Building on existing forms of critical, cultural, biopolitical, and sociopolitical posthumanism, in this text a new framework is developed for understanding and guiding the forces of technologization and posthumanization that are reshaping contemporary organizations. This ‘organizational posthumanism’ is an approach to analyzing, creating, and managing organizations that employs a post-dualistic and post-anthropocentric perspective and which recognizes that emerging technologies will increasingly transform the kinds of members, structures, systems, processes, physical and virtual spaces, and external ecosystems that are available for organizations to utilize. It is argued that this posthumanizing technologization of organizations will especially be driven by developments in three areas: 1) technologies for human augmentation and enhancement, including many forms of neuroprosthetics and genetic engineering; 2) technologies for synthetic agency, including robotics, artificial intelligence, and artificial life; and 3) technologies for digital-physical ecosystems and networks that create the environments within which and infrastructure through which human and artificial agents will interact. Drawing on a typology of contemporary posthumanism, organizational posthumanism is shown to be a hybrid form of posthumanism that combines both analytic, synthetic, theoretical, and practical elements. Like analytic forms of posthumanism, organizational posthumanism recognizes the extent to which posthumanization has already transformed businesses and other organizations; it thus occupies itself with understanding organizations as they exist today and developing strategies and best practices for responding to the forces of posthumanization. On the other hand, like synthetic forms of posthumanism, organizational posthumanism anticipates the fact that intensifying and accelerating processes of posthumanization will create future realities quite different from those seen today; it thus attempts to develop conceptual schemas to account for such potential developments, both as a means of expanding our theoretical knowledge of organizations and of enhancing the ability of contemporary organizational stakeholders to conduct strategic planning for a radically posthumanized long-term future

VIOLENCE IN EDUCATION: IMPACT ON FORMATION OF FUTURE LEBANESE LEADERS

History of empires and nations in a particular civilization is remembered by the scientific and academic discoveries. Greeks, Roman, Persian or other empires are mostly their military conquests and glories which faded away with time, while the taught ideologies, thoughts and inventions remain basic pillars in the development of human history, civilization and scientific discoveries. In the modern world man undertook many leaps into uncovering what previously were viewed as national mysteries and secrets. Science and technology have transported man to outer space, reaching other planets, travelling deeply in the fields of medicine, communication, transportation, electronics and continual creativity; yet that same man, remains enslaved to its own weaknesses and shortfalls. The scientific superhuman, in spite of the discoveries, focused also on self- destruction. Weapons of mass destruction are endlessly invented, poverty and misery offers over forty percent of the world population (2.6 billion humans), while over one thousand billions U.S. dollars are spent yearly on wars, destruction of humans and the environment. The authors chose to focus on (a) providing general but clear definition of educational objectives in Lebanon; (b) identifying the Lebanese educational socio-political system; (c) highlighting some deficiencies of the curricula offered at educational institutions, beginning with the first grades till the graduate studies at universities; (d) examining the family influence; (e) stressing the socio-religious, political ideological indoctrination. The study also highlights the negative effects caused by unqualified, untrained and unethical teaching staff in most institutions which resemble business bazaars where profit and money are the driving engines

A very real Virtual Society: some macrosociological reflections on "Second Life"

"Contrasting with various 'virtual communities', Second Life is a genuine 'virtual society' with the potential to provide a universal framework of interoperability between unlimited masses of individual as well as collective actors. By mirroring (end even amplifying) the acentrism and individualism of contemporary society, it is characterized by precarious member motivation, conservative conventionalism, a strong focus on money, a tendency toward class formation and a conspicuous deficit in politics and the public sphere. On the other hand, it contrasts with 'First Life' by offering malleable artifacts and situated environments which are likely to transform deeply the way people surf and interact on the net." (author's abstract

Methodological individualism : true and false

I apply Hayek’s distinction between ‘true’ and ‘false’ individualism to methodological individualism. Hayek traced ‘false’ individualism to Cartesian rationalism; Hayek’s rejection of Mises’ praxeology was due to its rationalist underpinnings. The first half of this paper identifies praxeology’s foundational philosophical concepts, emphasising their Cartesian nature, and illustrates how together they constitute a case for methodological individualism: intuition and deduction; reductionism; judgement; dualism. In the second half of this paper, I draw upon philosophy and cognitive science to articulate ‘Hayekian’ (N.B. not Hayek’s) alternatives to these Cartesian concepts. The Hayekian alternative allows a ‘gestalt switch’ from the individual- to the system-level perspective. I therefore suggest that methodological individualism is both true and false: true, in that economic phenomena are grounded in the actions of individuals; false, in that certain problems might be reconceived/discovered at the system-level. I finish by suggesting three avenues of research at system-level: optimisation; stigmergy; computational complexity

Grounding the case for a European approach to the regulation of automated driving: the technology-selection effect of liability rules

In the current paper, we discuss the need for regulation at EU level of Connected and Automated Driving solutions (henceforth CAD) based on multiple considerations, namely (i) the need for uniformity of criteria across European Member States, and (ii) the impact that regulation—or the absence of it—has on the proliferation of specific technological solutions. The analysis is grounded on legal and economic considerations of possible interactions between vehicles with different levels of automation, and shows how the existing framework delays innovation. A Risk-Management Approach, identifying one sole responsible party ex ante (one-stop-shop), liable under all circumstances—pursuant to a strict, if not absolute liability rule—is to be preferred. We analyse the solution adopted by some Member States in light of those considerations and conclude that none truly corresponds to a RMA approach, and differences will also cause market fragmentation. We conclude that because legal rules determine what kind of technological application is favoured over others—and thence they are not technology-neutral—uniformity across MSs is of essential relevance, and discuss possible policy approaches to be adopted at European level

Robotics in Germany and Japan

This book comprehends an intercultural and interdisciplinary framework including current research fields like Roboethics, Hermeneutics of Technologies, Technology Assessment, Robotics in Japanese Popular Culture and Music Robots. Contributions on cultural interrelations, technical visions and essays are rounding out the content of this book