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Our Serial (and Parallel) Selves: Identity in the Age of the Transhuman

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Science Fiction, Ethics and the Human Condition
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Abstract

Mediated interaction, integration with technology and other aspects of the (post)modern world have led to a refined sense and notion of self. Science fiction takes the notion of fragmentation of identity and multiple selves to the extreme in stories of simulation, uploaded personalities and changes to the physical substrate. Using examples from cutting-edge SF writers like Charles Stross and Greg Egan, I examine how science fiction presents a literal discussion of identity in a possible future age of changed humanity as well as a metaphorical treatment of the present-day experience of changed identity.

Stig W. Jørgensens holds a PhD in computational linguistics and is a former employee of Copenhagen Business School, Bingham University and University of Copenhagen. He now works as a free-lance consultant.

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Correspondence to Stig W. Jørgensen .

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Jørgensen, S.W. (2017). Our Serial (and Parallel) Selves: Identity in the Age of the Transhuman. In: Baron, C., Halvorsen, P., Cornea, C. (eds) Science Fiction, Ethics and the Human Condition. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56577-4_6

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