Abstract

Keywords: Cyborg, Prosthesis, Bodily Threshold, Xenembole, Subjective Motivation Extension, Disembodiment

The purpose of this study was to investigate the bodily threshold, which is the right to belong inside or outside the body, determined using subjective motivation. The foundations and features of the cyborg and prosthesis are explained in detail in the context of contemporary culture. Borrowing the term “xenembole” from veterinary medicine, the study further discussed providing a way to coexist with technology in addition to the grafting of flesh and extensions. The methods implemented on digital media texts, life phenomena, and art works revealed multiple contexts and code hints. The author used cases to illustrate the interactions between the body and prosthesis and examined the relationship of deconstruction and recontruction of the body. It can be concluded from the findings that bodily threshold is a dual system theory with two types of working strategies, namely wonder body and technical body. The results indicated that the theory can accommodate existing blind spots of interpretation and those beyond perception.

• Yan-xuan Miguel Xiao, Sensory Lab, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan