In the S F films, we discover chimerical beings -belonging for at least 90% to the human species, but with a few morphological features issued from animal species in their faces and hands, such as bulgings, ears, horns, claws, hairs and furs. The christian Western civilization has established a sacred opposition between man and animal, quite the opposite to most of the other mythologies and so called pagan religions, Hinduism included, and to the Greek tradition of minotaurs, sirens, satyrs or other centaurs. It opposed also to the Middle-age's cultures and its fabulous hybrid animals, such as werewolves, empowered beasts, vampires, etc. And we continue now a days with Disney world's animals, and famous characters of George Lucas' Stars War such as the Jedi, Teki, Yoda, etc.. Simultaneously, we observe that today's scientific research in the field of biology shows more and more interest for chimeric embryos. Most recently, the British government has authorized Dr Stephen Minger and his team of the King's College in London to go ahead into such an investigation (April 2007). What is it about? Precisely to grow hybrid cytoplasmatic embryos starting with ovules of cows, ewes, mousses or rabbits, replacing the nucleus by a human cell, and merging both tanks to an electrical shock. This process allows combining the genetic information of the animal's ovule (mitochondry) with the one of the human cell. Such an hybrid embryo may be called a chimera because it merges the genetic heritage of two different species. Of course searchers work hard to obtain a embryo which (who) reaches the highest possible human characteristics, and may still able to develop itself by division and reproduction of its cells. It is aimed to extract of it stem cells - the only use which is legal - before destroying these hybrid embryos after two weeks, as requested by the law.
No doubt, with such practices we encounter the extreme limits of a transgression, which is as much from genetic as from civilizational nature. Traditional ethics reject such an attempts, and the law is hesitating, allowing it with strict restrictions or prohibiting it absolutely. And theses researches confront us to the mythic imagination of humankind, reptilian and more present than ether: let's just think of the posthuman, transhuman and extropian utopias of today! Siliceous mixes with carbon, machine with man, flesh with metal, and we create virtualy new ways of life and alternative universes. Not surprisingly we meet here the same interests which nourish bioart, and in particular the transgenic art of artists such as Eduardo Kac, the morphologies of Marta de Menezez, or the biomecanic constructions of the Australian group Symbiotica ((Oron Catts, Ionat Zurr, Guy Ben Ary).
Humanism, animalism, mechanism, hybridism
To reach to such an extend of audacity, even if methods, expressions and aims may change, merge or oppose considerably between art, science and science fiction, it becomes evident that all three are minded by the same cyberpromethean obsession which drives humankind.It seems that the very nature of such a desired hybridism, or the very intention of this chimeric superbrain to which we aspire, tends to merge humanism, animalism (with its extensive sensitive capacities) and mechanism (with the digital empowerment it allows). It is all about overcoming our limits, exploring the "frontier of the future" or the so called "Singularity", which fascinate scientists and SF writers. In a few words: we dear to question and create ourselves our human destiny. Scientific arts and Science fiction (mainly literature and cinema) have specially in common to get their inspiration from science and technology and same need or function to bridge the main myths and questions of contemporary technoscience with the creative cultural processes of the XXI century.Hervé Fischer.
No doubt, with such practices we encounter the extreme limits of a transgression, which is as much from genetic as from civilizational nature. Traditional ethics reject such an attempts, and the law is hesitating, allowing it with strict restrictions or prohibiting it absolutely. And theses researches confront us to the mythic imagination of humankind, reptilian and more present than ether: let's just think of the posthuman, transhuman and extropian utopias of today! Siliceous mixes with carbon, machine with man, flesh with metal, and we create virtualy new ways of life and alternative universes. Not surprisingly we meet here the same interests which nourish bioart, and in particular the transgenic art of artists such as Eduardo Kac, the morphologies of Marta de Menezez, or the biomecanic constructions of the Australian group Symbiotica ((Oron Catts, Ionat Zurr, Guy Ben Ary).
Humanism, animalism, mechanism, hybridism
To reach to such an extend of audacity, even if methods, expressions and aims may change, merge or oppose considerably between art, science and science fiction, it becomes evident that all three are minded by the same cyberpromethean obsession which drives humankind.It seems that the very nature of such a desired hybridism, or the very intention of this chimeric superbrain to which we aspire, tends to merge humanism, animalism (with its extensive sensitive capacities) and mechanism (with the digital empowerment it allows). It is all about overcoming our limits, exploring the "frontier of the future" or the so called "Singularity", which fascinate scientists and SF writers. In a few words: we dear to question and create ourselves our human destiny. Scientific arts and Science fiction (mainly literature and cinema) have specially in common to get their inspiration from science and technology and same need or function to bridge the main myths and questions of contemporary technoscience with the creative cultural processes of the XXI century.Hervé Fischer.
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