The Loss of Loss: The Perfect Treatment to Cure YourLoneliness within the Transhumanist Framework

Articles > Article · 2026

Authors: Fatıma ERTÜRK

Edebiyat ve Beşeri Bilimler Dergisi, International Refereed University Journal, International, MLA International Bibliography, 2026, pp 15-24

DOI: 10.55590/literatureandhumanities.1640673

Summary

<p>Transhumanism&nbsp;is&nbsp;an&nbsp;approach&nbsp;that&nbsp;aims&nbsp;to&nbsp;enhance&nbsp;human&nbsp;physical,&nbsp;cognitive&nbsp;and&nbsp;emotionalcapacities&nbsp;through&nbsp;advances&nbsp;in&nbsp;science&nbsp;and&nbsp;technology.&nbsp;Murat&nbsp;Gülsoy’s&nbsp;novel&nbsp;The&nbsp;Perfect&nbsp;Treatmentto&nbsp;Cure&nbsp;Your&nbsp;Loneliness&nbsp;(2016)&nbsp;explores&nbsp;the&nbsp;effects&nbsp;of&nbsp;these&nbsp;transhumanist&nbsp;promises&nbsp;on&nbsp;theindividual&nbsp;through&nbsp;the&nbsp;fictional&nbsp;concept&nbsp;of&nbsp;“mind&nbsp;transfer”.&nbsp;This&nbsp;study&nbsp;examines&nbsp;the&nbsp;transformationsin&nbsp;the&nbsp;novel&nbsp;within&nbsp;the&nbsp;framework&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;digitization&nbsp;of&nbsp;sexuality,&nbsp;the&nbsp;violation&nbsp;of&nbsp;bioethicalboundaries,&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;dissolution&nbsp;of&nbsp;subjectivity,&nbsp;which&nbsp;are&nbsp;all&nbsp;effects&nbsp;of&nbsp;transhumanist&nbsp;intervention.Adopting&nbsp;content&nbsp;analysis&nbsp;as&nbsp;a&nbsp;qualitative&nbsp;research&nbsp;technique,&nbsp;the&nbsp;study&nbsp;first&nbsp;focuses&nbsp;on&nbsp;thehistorical&nbsp;development&nbsp;of&nbsp;transhumanism&nbsp;and&nbsp;examines&nbsp;the&nbsp;service&nbsp;offered&nbsp;by&nbsp;the&nbsp;Janus&nbsp;companyin&nbsp;the&nbsp;novel&nbsp;as&nbsp;an&nbsp;attempt&nbsp;to&nbsp;overcome&nbsp;death&nbsp;and&nbsp;loneliness&nbsp;through&nbsp;digital&nbsp;continuity.&nbsp;In&nbsp;thesubsequent&nbsp;stages&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;study,&nbsp;the&nbsp;mechanization&nbsp;of&nbsp;sexuality,&nbsp;detached&nbsp;from&nbsp;the&nbsp;necessity&nbsp;ofphysical&nbsp;contact,&nbsp;is&nbsp;analyzed&nbsp;through&nbsp;Luciana&nbsp;Parisi’s&nbsp;concept&nbsp;of&nbsp;“abstract&nbsp;sex”,&nbsp;examining&nbsp;howpleasure&nbsp;is&nbsp;mechanized.&nbsp;Subsequently,&nbsp;the&nbsp;bioethical&nbsp;crises&nbsp;created&nbsp;by&nbsp;technological&nbsp;interventionare&nbsp;discussed&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;context&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;loss&nbsp;of&nbsp;individual&nbsp;autonomy&nbsp;and&nbsp;state&nbsp;control&nbsp;mechanisms.&nbsp;In&nbsp;thefinal&nbsp;section&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;study,&nbsp;Mirat’s&nbsp;experience&nbsp;of&nbsp;identity&nbsp;fragmentation&nbsp;is&nbsp;analyzed&nbsp;through&nbsp;SlavojŽižek’s&nbsp;concept&nbsp;of&nbsp;“loss&nbsp;of&nbsp;loss”.&nbsp;In&nbsp;this&nbsp;context,&nbsp;loneliness&nbsp;(loss)&nbsp;is&nbsp;treated&nbsp;as&nbsp;a&nbsp;constitutive&nbsp;elementof&nbsp;the&nbsp;subject;&nbsp;the&nbsp;attempt&nbsp;to&nbsp;compensate&nbsp;for&nbsp;this&nbsp;loss&nbsp;with&nbsp;transhumanist&nbsp;ideals&nbsp;(the&nbsp;loss&nbsp;of&nbsp;loss)is&nbsp;treated&nbsp;as&nbsp;the&nbsp;subject’s&nbsp;alienation&nbsp;from&nbsp;itself.&nbsp;In&nbsp;this&nbsp;context,&nbsp;it&nbsp;has&nbsp;been&nbsp;revealed&nbsp;that&nbsp;Mirat’sreturn&nbsp;to&nbsp;loneliness&nbsp;at&nbsp;the&nbsp;end&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;novel&nbsp;is&nbsp;not&nbsp;only&nbsp;a&nbsp;failure&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;transhumanist&nbsp;project,&nbsp;butalso&nbsp;a&nbsp;process&nbsp;through&nbsp;which&nbsp;the&nbsp;character&nbsp;liberates&nbsp;himself&nbsp;by&nbsp;accepting&nbsp;his&nbsp;own&nbsp;inadequacy.</p>

View details