Abstract:
The phenomenon of the homunculus as an aspect of creating life in the laboratory is a documented attribute of Western premodern and medieval Arabic alchemy. Early alchemical texts can be seen to reveal the archetypes and myths present in the contemporary practice of creating life in the laboratory. Current genetics research endeavours to create ever-more complex genetic chimeras using human DNA and the creation of such creatures can be seen to constitute a return to the homunculus mythology. The extent to which this creature, this genetic homunculus, manifests in contemporary society is revealed in popular visual culture and the arts to be a prominent feature of the contemporary psyche. Ontological means of negotiation of a genetically engineered being falls to arguments of natural versus artificial in terms of post-humanism. The homunculus is shown to be impossible to arbitrate in terms of a transcendent mythology in this sense and the provided examples from visual culture reveal that this marvel is, as a result, myriad in teleological outcomes. Copyright
