The problem of the body and death: contingency and absence

Abstract

Based on the reading of a brief text entitled “Limbo eterno FM-2030”, written by Argentine researcher Flavia Costa, this article presents a set of reflections to show how modern philosophy and the contemporary transhumanist project have struggled against the body and death in an effort to overcome their contingent condition. The fear of “being absent,” of not staying alive, has led us to the formulation of various technics oriented towards the constant improvement of the world and ourselves in the quest for immortality. According to this way of thinking, the human condition, marked by vulnerability and fragility, can and must be overcome, hence one of the most pursued ideals in the last five centuries continues to be the absolute foresight and planning of daily life. Predictability equals order, order equals progress, progress equals wealth. Capitalism, science and technology walk hand in hand in their struggle against the body and death, against contingency and absence.