Posthuman Ethics: The Priority of Ethical Over Ontological Status

The moral status of new beings has often been linked to the question of the ontological status of new beings. Some authors believe that the discussion of the ontological status of new beings should be abandoned, in order to give priority to ethics in light of Lévinas's idea that ethicsPosthumanismethics should take precedence over ontology. This chapter shows that the question of the subjectivity of new beings cannot be avoided within legal and ethical considerations. The postmodern theory offers an adequate theoretical framework for the development of transhuman and posthuman ethicsPosthumanismethics. Transhuman agencyAgency requires postmodernist understanding of subjectivity, which leaves room for hybrid identities. On the other hand, the posthuman ethicsPosthumanismethics requires the postmodern understanding of morality which accepts otherness and overcomes binary hierarchies based on power relations.