Cyborg Society: the Pursuit of Post-Humanity in the Performance Society in Times of Burnout

Abstract

This article proposes an investigation into the intersection between cyborgs and post-humanity, in a social context marked by high performance and burnout. The research engages with the thoughts of Byung-Chul Han, Thierry Hoquet, and Donna Haraway, seeking to understand how the cyborg, a representation of maximum efficiency, fits into this performance society, and how this configuration may result in exhaustion or burnout. Haraway's analysis on the breaking of boundaries between human and machine, organic and inorganic, proposed by cyborgs, is brought into conversation with the idea of post-humanity, exploring the ways in which the existence of cyborgs might challenge our understanding of what it is to be human. The discussion on burnout, based on Han's contributions, allows for reflection on the demands and pressures of contemporary society and their influence on the concept of the cyborg. In this way, the article proposes a social reflection on cyborgs, considering the complex relationships between technology, identity, performance, and exhaustion in contemporary society.