Philosophy & Rhetoric May 2017

Against the Droid's “Instrument of Efficiency,” For Animalizing Technologies in a Posthumanist Spirit

Damien Smith Pfister University of Maryland, College Park

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article argues for closer dialogue between the work of Kenneth Burke and contemporary posthumanist philosophers, especially in the context of the small technologies of ubiquitous computing. A Burkean critique of commercial advertisements for the Motorola Droid phone demonstrates the potency of rhetorical criticism in unpacking the tropes of what I call “corporate posthumanism.” Informed by contemporary posthumanist philosophers and critical theorists of technology, I depart from Burke's too-sweeping claims about technology to identify a “critical posthumanist” practice that can be found in the “check-in.” By analogizing “checking in” through mobile phone technologies to canine marking strategies, I show how critical theories of technology ought to account for both the instrumentalizing and animalizing tendencies of digital media. The conclusion emphasizes the need for critical posthumanism to embrace a Burkean critique of efficiency, dramatistic analysis, and for a “definition of the animal (in a posthumanist spirit).”

Journal
Philosophy & Rhetoric
Published
2017-05-22
DOI
10.5325/philrhet.50.2.0201
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical theory digital rhetoric race and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

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