Mediterranea International Centre for Human Rights Research, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabri, Italy.
This research aims to delve into the intricate and multilayered connection between humans and posthumans, as depicted in Hannu Rajaniemi's Jean le Flambeur trilogy. This Finnish American author's trilogy, consisting of The Quantum Thief (2010), The Fractal Prince (2012), and The Causal Angel (2014), paints an insightful picture of this interaction. The investigation aims to illuminate the emergence of humanity in an extremely posthuman and postsingular landscape, arguing that one must understand humanity as not entirely separate from posthumanism. Instead, humanity should be considered a specific case, or limit case, of the broader posthumanist concept. The form of humanity that arises from the boundaries of an extreme posthuman state of evolution will not mirror the pre-posthuman state; instead, it will transform into a more comprehensive, inclusive entity. The analysis of these three novels will illustrate how Rajaniemi's work does not entirely dismiss human agency. Instead, it recontextualizes and reshapes it within a dramatically different posthuman setting.
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