포스트휴먼과 죽음 - 공자, 장자, 도잠, 노신이 죽음을 대했던 태도와 현재적 쓸모 (On Posthuman and Death: Revaluating Chinese Traditional Ideas on Death in Posthuman Era, including Confucius’s, Zhuangzi’s, Tao Yuan-ming’s and Luxun’s)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국중국어문학회
· 수록지 정보 : 중국문학 / 92권 / 149 ~ 172페이지
· 저자명 : 김월회

초록

이 글은 만물인터넷과 인공지능으로 대변되는 超연결(hyper-connection)-포스트휴먼(posthuman)시대의 도래를 앞둔 상황에서 죽음의 문제를 다루고자 기획되었다. 목하 생명과 인간다움에 대한 논의와 통찰이 다양한 매체와 언어를 통해 활발하게 수행되고 있고, 그러한 현상의 근저에는 죽음의 문제가 놓여있다고 판단됐기 때문이다. 다만 이 주제는 다양한 학문분야의 관련 연구를 활용하여 가능한 넓고도 깊게 또 높게 고찰할 필요가 있다. 따라서 이 글에서는 그러한 고찰의 ‘마중물’을 마련한다는 차원에서 공자, 장자, 도잠과 노신이 죽음에 대해 취했던 태도에서 ‘초연결-포스트휴먼시대와 죽음’이란 주제를 궁구할 수 있는 지적 자원을 길어내고자 하였다. 이를 위해 1장에서는 공수반의 고사를 예로 하여 문명에서 기술의 역할과 위상에 대해 살펴보았다. 2장에서는 초연결-포스트휴먼시대, 죽음이란 화두가 생명, 인간다움과 왜 긴밀하게 연동될 수밖에 없었는지를 논술하였다. 3장에서는 공자, 장자, 도잠과 노신이 죽음에 대해 취했던 태도를 고찰하여 이를 각각 ‘삶의 특권화’, ‘삶-죽음 회로의 바깥 지향’, ‘죽음과 놀기’, ‘죽음에 비스듬히 서기’라고 명명해보았다. 맺음말에서는 그들이 죽음에 대해 취했던 태도의 현재적 가치를 세 가지로 수렴하여 논했다.

영어초록

This paper is set out to address the issue of death in the context of the full-fledged arrival of the ‘hyper-connection & posthuman era’ represented by internet of things(IoT) and artificial intelligence(AI). This is because the discussions and insights about life and humanity are actively conducted through various media and narrative forms such as novels, movies, drama, and UCC, and the problem of death lies at the root of such phenomenon. However, it is necessary to review the existing research outcomes related to the subject as deeply and widely as possible.
In this article, we will look for intellectual resources which can lead to deeper research on ‘death in the hyper-connection & posthuman era’ in the intellectual tradition of China, focusing on the attitudes that Confucius(孔子), Zhuangzi(莊子), Tao Yuanming(陶淵明) and Luxun(魯迅) take towards death.
Chapter 1 will examine the role of technology in the process of creation, maintenance, and renewal of civilization through the historical story of Gong Shuban(公输班). Chapter 2 will discuss the reason why the topic of death should be closely linked with life and humanity in the hyper-connection & posthuman era. Life extension and death suspension demolish the existing view that privileges life for death by devaluing the ethical status of life. Artificial intelligence, which is getting closer to humans, blurs the boundary between human and non-human, and deconstruct the existing ‘human-centered’ and ‘human body-centered’ paradigm of thought. Chapter 3 will look into the attitude that Confucius, Zhuangzi, Tao Yuanming and Luxun have taken to death, naming them as ‘Privileging Life’, ‘Outward Orientation of Life-Death Circuit’, ‘Playing with Death’ and ‘Standing Slantly between Life and Death’ respectively.
In conclusion, I have outlined three aspects of the current value of attitudes they have taken on death. Firstly, as the possibility of extension of life becomes higher, the necessity of ethical justification for an extended life is increasing accordingly. Confucian scholars’ ideas on death can offer us a valuable reference for this need. Secondly, Zhuangzi’s idea which set the outside of a life-death circuit as a ‘real’ place for human life can be a useful reference system for thinking about the hyper-connection & posthuman era when the boundary between god, human and machine is getting ambiguous as ever. Thirdly, while it may be difficult to regard non-human beings as human based on homogeneity, could it be possible for we humans to play with them and stand slantly between life and death? At this situation, the idea of Luxun and Tao Yuanming on death can be intellectual and cultivative assets which can be applied to life by imagining and thinking about it.

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