Redefining the Human: Critical Posthumanist Perspectives in Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun and Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon

In a world where humans occupy the most superior place in the hierarchy of beings, the gradual transformation of humans into a hybrid structure raises complex ethical and moral questions regarding the application of science and technology. This leads to a greater prevalence of transhumanism and posthumanism in literature. In this vein, in Klara and the Sun (2021), Kazuo Ishiguro highlights the unethical use of artificial intelligence through human-centred transhumanist initiatives and the potential risks of genetically modifying humans for a more advantageous generation. The author indicates deep concerns about the changing social dynamics due to artificial intelligence advances while confronting the reader with pivotal epistemic, ontological, and ethical questions regarding human and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, Daniel Keyes, whose works explore psychological and ethical themes and the human condition and limits of human potential, draws attention to issues similar to Ishiguro’s in his science fiction novel Flowers for Algernon (1966). Delicately examining questions about the intersection of technology and humanity, which form the basis of posthumanist philosophy, the author foregrounds the moral and ethical principles that transhumanism misses through his mentally disabled protagonist. Reading the novels from a critical posthumanist perspective, this article aims to focus on the authors’ endeavour to raise awareness about humans’ association with science and technology, their interconnectedness with other life forms, and the features that make humans human. The study draws attention to the common aspects of the two novels from a critical post-humanist perspective, focusing on the ethical and moral dilemmas associated with technological progress and the potential loss of human essence. Despite the significant time difference of around sixty years between the novels, this research aims to identify the similarities in their exploration of these themes.