Cybernetic Organism: Cyborg Pride and Culture

We've talked about a lot of things in class. Most striking was the ongoing debate on whether or not someone is human based on whether they use something to assist a function, such as a cane or eyeglasses, and the answers that came up were quite varied. World views on cybernetics are almost as varied, where the more fundamentalist groups think that it is a crime to replace any part of the human body, while others see it as either a full replacement or an augmentation, and would greatly benefit humanity. So, what exactly defines a cyborg? What determines when cybernetic implants overtake the human body, and the person is no longer human - or even a cyborg? Is there a point where a person becomes inhuman, or, even more important, is there a point where the cybernetic augmentations become so hard on the body that they actually harm or even destroy it?

By one definition, "A cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction." (Haraway) So this definition means that the entity has parts that are both organic and machine. But this definition leaves some questions. What about external attachments that would enhance a sense, such as eyeglasses? This is where the discussions held in class started to take a different turn. Some thought that such augmentations would make a person "less human", even with something simple as a filling. I don't view it that way, as there are a lot of different things that can enhance a person without physically affecting their body construction, and that's where the definition leads. If a person has an artificial leg, then that person could be considered a cyborg, but is also still human. Same thing goes with joint replacement, since the original organic part is being replaced with an inferior part. I say inferior because no machine that man makes can withstand the wear that the human body does. Anything that is replaced in a person will have to eventually be replaced again; it simply can't repair itself. A hearing aid, on the other hand, would not make someone a cyborg, as it does not change the person's body structure.