Biophenomenology

by Prof. Dr. phil. Christina Schües

(book manuscript in preparation)

Life eludes us, while meaning asserts itself.

We are living in the century of biopolitics, a distinct form of biopolitics. This means that life is at the center of the political sphere. Yet, the political is shaped by the interests of capitalism and the medical practices of the life sciences. Biopolitics concerns not only medical practices, such as prenatal diagnosis or questions of enhancement, but also the human condition – our birth and mortality, our life on earth, our vulnerability and relationality. Every aspect of our lives is intertwined with the life of at least one other person – whether for survival or co-existence.

In my reflections, I aim to present the idea that a particular phenomenological approach, which I term "biophenomenology," could shed light on the concept and conditions of life experience as introduced and organized by biopolitical regimes and discourses. Biophenomenology builds upon: Edmund Husserl's concept of generative phenomenology, a rethinking of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of the body, and Hannah Arendt's critical – indeed, biopolitical – work on "natality" and "life."

Recognizing the interconnection between biotechnological procedures and lived experience, biophenomenology examines life as lived, its relationality and generativity, as well as dissemination (?) and transmission in the context of the "life of data" (?) in prenatal genetic diagnosis, "giving life" in transplantation medicine, "managing life" in processes linked to migration, and the "interweaving of life and technology." What does it mean to be genetically tested before birth? This question illustrates how the unpredictability of birth has transformed into regulation and prediction.

The central question is: How do biotechnological interventions alter and shape the (co-)human conditions of life in a shared world?

This inquiry touches on the foundations of human existence, experiences, and intergenerational relationships in the 21st century. It is within this framework that biopolitics must be reexamined.

Publications:

Schües, Christina: Das „Leben“ in biophänomenologischer Perspektive: Ein transhumanes Paradigma. In: Delhom, Pascal/Hilt, Annette (eds.): Das Leben denken. Philosophische Anthropologie und Lebensphilosophie im deutsch-französischen Gespräch. Freiburg: Alber 2018, pp. 219 - 247.

Schües, Christina: The Trans-human Paradigm and the Meaning of Life, in: Future Directions in Feminist Phenomenology, H. Fielding u. D. Olkowski (eds.), Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2017, pp. 218 - 241.

Schües, Christina: Improving Deficiencies? Historical, Anthropological, and Ethical Aspects of the Human Condition, in: M. Eilers, K. Grüber, C. Rehmann-Sutter (eds.): The Human Enhancement Debate and Disability. New Bodies for a Better Life, Hampshire: Palgrave 2014, pp. 38 - 63.