The Cybathlon experience: beyond transhumanism to capability hybridization. Issue 1 (2nd January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Richard, Remi; Andrieu, Bernard
• Is Part Of: Journal of the philosophy of sport. Volume 46:Issue 1(2019)
• Page Start: 49
• Page End: 62
• Publication Date: 2019-01-02
• Subjects: Cyborg -- technology -- disability -- sport -- transhumanism -- capability hybridization; Sports -- Philosophy -- Periodicals; 796.01
• DOI: 10.1080/00948705.2018.1561297
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0094-8705

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The Cybathlon is a new kind of competition that embraces disabled people who use advanced assistive technologies. The purpose of this essay is to interpret the Cybathlon not as a 'transhuman' sport for enhanced athletes but as a place for experimenting with 'capability hybridatization' of the self. We wish to show that the figure of the transhuman cyborg that dominates the media coverage of disabled athletes is an attempt to approximate the able-bodied standard. This figure is problematic because it excludes athletes who cannot meet it. We defend the idea that capability hybridization, on the other hand, does not seek to approach a standard, but aims to promote and legitimize variedly able bodies. This article will be organized in three stages. First, we will highlight the production of the transhuman cyborg at work in contemporary disability sport. Then, we will show that this transhuman cyborg is based on ableist and heteronormative conceptions of the body that are opposed to a postmodern definition of the cyborg. Finally, we will argue that the Cybathlon, as it currently exists, is not a showcase of this transhuman cyborg but, above all, a place to experiment with a form of capability hybridization.