Posthuman Jurisprudence : From Neoplatonic Ascent to Posthuman Entanglement

SW44–Posthuman Jurisprudence : From Neoplatonic Ascent to Posthuman Entanglement

Convenors: Olga Rosenkranzova; Andrea Kluknavska; Tomas Gabris

Contact: olga.rosenkranzova@upol.cz ; kluknavska.andrea@umb.sk

Submission Deadline: 31.5.2026

The workshop is being held as a part of the project no. 26-24212S “Protecting the Individuals in the Digital Age: Human Dignity as a Legal Imperative“ funded by the Czech Science Foundation – GAČR.

Thematic Overview: The definition of the “human” is undergoing a radical transformation. For millennia, Western thought has been shaped by the desire to transcend biological limits – a quest that finds its roots in the Neoplatonic pursuit of the “One” and the shedding of the material body. Today, this impulse survives in Transhumanism, where the “soul” is reimagined as “data” and divinity is sought through the Singularity.

Simultaneously, the ecological crises of the Anthropocene demand a Posthumanist turn: a decentring of the human in favour of an entangled, multispecies reality. As we navigate this shift, our legal and philosophical frameworks are fracturing. If the “self” becomes a distributed digital pattern or a genetically edited hybrid, the foundations of jurisprudence – intent, liability, and personhood – must be entirely rewritten. The importance of values in law, such as freedom, dignity, and equality, is growing, but even values are changing in their urgency.

We invite papers in English or German that explore the intersections of metaphysics, technology, and law in the transition towards a Post-Anthropocene world.

Suggested Tracks and Topics

Track 1: The Metaphysics of Enhancement

• Secular Neoplatonism: The structural parallels between ancient “ascent” and modern “uploading.”
• Substrate Independence: The philosophical implications of viewing consciousness as information.
• Theurgy vs. Technology: From ritual purification to genetic editing.

Track 2: Post-Anthropocene Jurisprudence and Nonhuman Rights, or Rights of Others/Posthuman Values (dignity, freedom, and equality)

• Habeas Data: Protecting the digital “person” and the legal status of uploaded consciousness.
• Earth Jurisprudence: The legal personhood of non-human entities (rivers, AI, and ecosystems) – new theories or other forms of increased legal protection?
• Distributed Liability: Who is responsible for the actions of augmented humans or autonomous systems? What model of responsibility should be established?
•   Autonomy of will and dignity of artificial intelligence: Is the autonomy of will of individuals or humanity being limited or influenced? What is the impact on responsibility? Is there an instrumentalisation of humans as individuals or humanity as a whole, i.e., a violation of human dignity?
•  The right to be offline: The right to be offline as an expression of autonomy of will and to ensure an information-secure or non-informational space. Is this individual autonomy necessarily a positive claim against the state?

Track 3: Ethics of the Post-Biological in a Critical Light

• Genetic Caste Systems: Legal protections against biological, digital and cognitive inequality.
• The Right to Decay: The ethics of resisting the transhumanist mandate for immortality and physical perfection vs. the right to self-determination.
• Cybernetic Agency: How neural implants challenge the legal concept of “free will” and how they intervene in the identity of the enhanced human being.

Submission Guidelines:

Please submit an abstract of 300–500 words and a brief CV to olga.rosenkranzova@upol.cz and kluknavska.andrea@umb.sk We welcome contributions from philosophy, law, sociology, computer science, and arts. Presentations can be held both in English and German.