! The Human Non-Human Boundary in Dune An Ontological Reading through a Compara5ve Nietzschean and Transhuman Framework Ki5 Misha English Studies, English III, Literary option-VT20 Bachelor of Arts with a major in English Studies 30 credits Spring 2020 Supervisor: Berndt Clavier [Misha] Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................1 1. Introducon ...................................................................................................................1 2. What is human? .............................................................................................................4 2.1. Three types of posthuman ..........................................................................................................6 2.2. The Kwisatz Haderach .................................................................................................................6 2.3. Transhuman’s posthuman ...........................................................................................................7 2.4. NietzsChe’s overhuman ...............................................................................................................8 2.4.1. NietzsChe, Transhumanism: Transvalua5on of Values .......................................................................10 2.4.2. NietzsChe, Transhumanism: EnhanCements and Gene5Cs ................................................................11 2.4.3. NietzsChe, Transhumanism: Eternal ReCurrenCe ...............................................................................13 3. From human to posthuman: Paul .................................................................................15 3.1. PauL as the star5ng point from human to posthuman ..............................................................15 3.2. The Gom Jabbar: tes5ng to find humans ..................................................................................17 3.3. Arrakis: Catalysts of Change ......................................................................................................21 3.4. Arrakis: The Desert and refleC5ons on the posthuman Condi5on ............................................23 4. From Posthuman to Non-human: The Worm .................................................................25 4.1. An introduC5on to the non-human? .........................................................................................26 4.2. Leto’s “eCoLogiCal” metamorphoses ..........................................................................................27 4.3. From non-human to human ......................................................................................................30 5. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................35 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................37 [Misha] Abbrevia5ons: God Emperor of Dune – GED ChiLdren of Dune – COD Thus Spoke Zarathustra - TSZ [Misha] Abstract In Frank Herbert’s Dune Saga, we find a transhumanist and Nietzschean argument about the evolution of humans achieved as a result of the triggering effect of the Butlerian Jihad against thinking machines. I claim that the metamorphoses of the selected characters reflect the central tenants of the transformation of Nietzsche’s overhuman, or transhumanism’s posthuman. By extending these metamorphoses to include the standpoint of a fictional counterpart such as Dune’s Kwisatz Haderach, this study claims that in Science Fiction we find a possible ground for conceptualizing difficult problems that deal with the future of humanity. This investigation into the need to overcome the human condition will be held in order to see what drives human enhancement, what triggers the need for change, and how this enhancement is realised. Moreover, I claim that the Dune Saga dramatizes a future scenario that furthers the discussion on what is human by questioning the boundary between human and nonhuman Keywords: Frank Herbert, Dune, the Dune Saga, Science Fiction, Nietzsche, Overhuman, Posthuman, Transhuman, Transhumanism, Human, Nonhuman !1 [Misha] If we have made our way from worm to man, there still remains much within us that is worm, and although we were once apes man is now more of an ape than any ape. The superhuman is to be our new hope, the lightning and madness that emerges out of the dark cloud of man and in which man can find his purification - FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, Thus Spoke Zarathustra 1. Introduction This study focuses on the human non-human boundary as expressed in Frank Herbert’s Dune Saga. My argument is that Dune is a series of novels of many conceptual layers where the author constantly tries to disprove political or ethic absolutisms. He achieves this by showing the result extremes have on the society of Dune. The metamorphoses of Paul Atreides and Leto II reflect the central tenants of the transformation of Nietzsche’s overhuman, or transhumanism’s posthuman. In a seminal manner, the Dune Saga posits that the changes of Dune are triggered by technology which serves as a catalyst for the metamorphoses happening in the novels. Technology is seen as a means of enhancing the human condition by transhumanism, and at the same time it plays an important role in Nietzsche’s writing. This makes Dune1 a perfect study case to discuss and analyse what is human through the framework of Nietzsche, transhumanism, and the influence of technology. In order to present this in an explanative manner I will progress in the following way. First, I will compare and contrast the definitions and concepts of the posthuman to that of Nietzsche’s overhuman. After that, I will contextualise the overhuman and the posthuman in Herbert’s Kwisatz Haderach, so that the similarities between the three will open up the possibility for debating the human nonhuman boundary in the Dune novels. 1 In this study “Dune” refers both to Frank Herbert’s first noveL of the saga, as weLL as the name of the pLanet where the story takes pLace. When referring to the noveL the word wiLL be italiCized. !2 [Misha] By constructing an unfamiliar scenario where we can lay down our preconceptions, Dune opens up “pathways discredited or even invisible to the ‘common sense’” (Wagner- Lawlor 12). In Dune’s past history, humankind stagnated and became overly dependent on technology. As a result, they were enslaved by their own “thinking machines” (Dune 564). It was this episode that triggered the need to enhance human abilities in Dune, and made their society move away from reliance on technology. In my view, the evolution of human enhancement in Dune is necessary to highlighting the existence of a philosophical connection between transhumanism’s reinvented conception of the self and the overhuman found in the writings of Nietzsche. This is noted in the presence of the similarities between the overhuman and the posthuman, and the Kwisatz Haderach. The scholars and philosophers who form the basis of the transhuman thinking, such as the original creators Max More and Nick Bostrom, believe it is imperative to evolve and enhance our abilities in order not to be in the hands of chance but own our future. The transhumanist philosophy stands for genetic engineering in order to rid humanity of sickness, prolong lifespan, and increase our intelligence. It is believed the ultimate result of this process will be the posthuman, and that we as humans can enter into a transhuman phase in order to achieve it. However, the genetic engineering present in the selected works differs from one philosophy to the other. As it will be further discussed below, transhumanism advocates liberal eugenics where the individual has the full right to either agree or disagree with the process. While the genetic breeding of Dune is reminiscent of a difficult time in European history where “purity” was valued above the rights of the individual. This is one of the instances in Dune were Herbert warns the reader against the dangers of absolutism, be them ethical or political. !3 [Misha] The metamorphoses that Paul Atreides and Leto II go through are comparable to the transhuman road to posthuman, as understood by transhumanism. This transformation is evocative of Nietzsche’s claim that his protagonist “Zarathustra is only a transitional figure on the way to his ultimate goal of creating the superhuman” (Loeb 85). There are similarities between Zarathustra's transformation and that of Paul who seems to come into existence in order to facilitate the coming of Leto II, or the seemingly real overhuman of Dune. In both instances we get a majority of the population that would qualify as human, a selected few that reminds us of the transhuman, and in rare cases we see the emergence of the equivalent of a posthuman. When an evolved human appears in Dune, his existence causes an equal amount of awe and fear. This is noticed in many instances when we see “factions” that are so different from what we consider human as to defy certain categorisation. Because of these similarities, I believe that Transhumanism is the most apt grid of analysis to investigate Dune. However, in light of the warning against absolutes that seems to be a constant theme in the Dune books, all the selected concepts should be taken not as such, but as definitions that open a ground for discussing the evolution from human to posthuman, and the investigation of the human