Philosophical Posthumanism

This article investigates the ontological foundations of philosophical posthumanism and critically evaluates its principal assumptions through the lens of contemporary Muslim scholarship. Emerging as a critique of Enlightenment humanism and grounded in postmodern and poststructuralist thought, posthumanism challenges established conceptions of human identity, agency, and moral uniqueness. It endeavours to decentre the human by emphasizing hybridity, technological mediation, and the interconnectivity of all beings—including animals, machines, and ecosystems. Employing conceptual analysis and comparative hermeneutics, this study juxtaposes posthumanist propositions with key Islamic metaphysical principles, specifically the concepts of fitrah (innate human nature), ruh (soul), and khalifah (vicegerency). Prominent Muslim thinkers such as Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Taha Abdurrahman, Osman Bakar, and Fazlur Rahman argue that posthumanist ontology subverts the divinely ordained status of human beings, risking spiritual estrangement by denying transcendence and moral responsibility. This paper identifies and critiques five core characteristics of posthumanism—namely, the decentring of the human, the dissolution of human–nonhuman boundaries, the rejection of human exceptionalism, technological embodiment, and ecological relationality—from an Islamic perspective. While acknowledging the ethical and ecological insights offered by posthumanist thought, the study concludes that posthumanism fundamentally conflicts with the Islamic worldview, which affirms human dignity, spiritual purpose, and metaphysical responsibility within a divinely structured cosmos.