Essential Books, Papers & Manifestos for Understanding Living Systems & Future Bodies
Seminal texts that shaped how we think about bodies, technology, and what it means to be human.
One of the most influential texts in feminist theory and technology studies. Haraway argues we are all already cyborgs—hybrids of machine and organism. She rejects the boundaries between human/animal, organism/machine, and physical/non-physical.
Why Read This: Foundational for understanding bio-robotics as political, not just technical. Changes how you see your relationship to technology.
Best Quote: "I would rather be a cyborg than a goddess."
Where to Find: Freely available online, included in many anthologies. Search "Haraway Cyborg Manifesto PDF"
Australian performance artist Stelarc's writings on why the human body in its current form is outdated. Argues for radical body modification through technology.
Why Read This: Provocative challenge to assumptions about "normal" bodies. Makes you question what bodies could/should be.
Where to Find: Stelarc.org has many essays. Also in "Obsolete Body/Suspensions/Stelarc" book (1984)
Philosopher argues humans have always been cyborgs—we've always used tools to extend our minds and bodies. Technology is not alien to human nature, it IS human nature.
Why Read This: Makes technology feel natural rather than threatening. Philosophical foundation for body augmentation.
Accessibility: Written for general audience, very readable.
Books by and about artists working with living systems, body modifications, and bio-design.
Collection of work by artists, designers, and scientists who speculate on the future of human sensorium through wearables, devices, and installations. Explores how we might enhance, substitute, or create entirely new senses.
Why Read This: Beautifully illustrated, accessible. Perfect introduction to body architecture and sensory design. Every page sparks ideas.
Format: Large format book, heavy on visuals. Great for browsing and inspiration.
Schwartzman's latest explores what it means to be alive today. Features work from synthetic biology, AI, robotics, engineering, biology, and art that challenges our perception of life itself.
Why Read This: Most current survey of bio-design and living systems. Shows where the field is heading.
Survey of 60+ projects using living organisms as design material. From furniture grown from mushrooms to clothing made by bacteria to meat cultured in labs.
Why Read This: Best overview of bio-design field. Beautiful photography. Shows what's actually possible, not just speculation.
Audience: Accessible to anyone, no science background needed.
Catalog from major exhibition exploring restorative design—design that repairs human relationship with nature through bio-materials, circular economy, and nature-technology fusion.
Why Read This: Shows ethical dimension of bio-design. Not just "can we?" but "should we?" and "how do we do it responsibly?"
Writings on living materials, material ecology, and the future of fabrication with nature.
Oxman's academic publications on Material Ecology—design at intersection of computation, fabrication, materials science, and synthetic biology. Foundational theory for bio-design.
Key Papers: "Material Ecology" (2010), "Age of Entanglement" (2016), various papers on Silk Pavilion and Aguahoja projects.
Where to Find: MIT Media Lab website, Google Scholar search "Neri Oxman Material Ecology"
Note: Academic but accessible. Start with "Material Ecology" overview paper.
Artist's book exploring synthetic biology, design, and the question: can we design nature "better"? Should we? Ginsberg works with synthetic biologists, questioning their assumptions through speculative design.
Why Read This: Critical perspective on bio-design. Questions assumptions, shows complexity and ethical dilemmas.
Format: Mix of art projects, essays, interviews with scientists.
Books that wrestle with moral questions about enhancement, modification, and the future of human bodies.
Philosopher argues against genetic enhancement and designer babies. Not because it's "unnatural" but because it threatens important human goods: humility, responsibility, solidarity.
Why Read This: Best articulation of conservative position on enhancement. Even if you disagree, important to understand these arguments.
Readability: Short (100 pages), clear prose, accessible to everyone.
Dystopian novel imagining future where genetic engineering is commonplace—designer babies, human-animal hybrids, lab-grown humans. Explores what goes wrong when bio-tech has no ethical constraints.
Why Read This: Atwood extrapolates current bio-tech trends. Makes you think about where we're heading. Compelling story, not dry philosophy.
Note: Part of trilogy (Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, MaddAddam).
Examines how biology has become a medium—something we read, write, and design with. DNA as code, bodies as interfaces, organisms as programmable material.
Why Read This: Theoretical framework for understanding bio-robotics. How did biology become designable?
Note: Academic but important. Read slowly, ideas are dense.
Books exploring how we sense, perceive, and experience the world—foundational for designing new senses.
Neurologist's case studies of patients with unusual perceptual disorders. Shows how fragile and constructed our sense of reality is. Perception is not passive—it's actively created by brain.
Why Read This: Understand how plastic and malleable perception is. If brain can create phantom limbs, it can learn to use robotic third hands or new senses.
Style: Narrative case studies, reads like stories. Accessible, moving, scientifically rigorous.
Neuroscientist explains brain plasticity—how brain constantly rewires itself based on experience. Implications for augmentation: brains can learn to use new body parts and new senses.
Why Read This: Scientific backing for sensory augmentation. Shows it's not sci-fi—brain is ready for new inputs.
Applications: Eagleman created vest that lets deaf people "hear" through vibrations on skin. Proves sensory substitution works.
Books on using design to imagine futures, provoke debate, and explore "what if?" scenarios.
Manifesto for speculative design. Argues design should ask questions, not just solve problems. Use design to explore possible futures—especially uncomfortable ones we need to think about.
Why Read This: Methodological foundation for all bio-robotics speculation. How to design "what if" scenarios that feel real.
Format: Mix of theory, case studies, and provocations. Very visual.
Science fiction author and futurist's vision of design's future. Objects become "spimes"—things that are tracked through space and time, aware of their own history and ecology.
Connection to Bio-Robotics: Living materials are natural spimes—they grow, heal, respond to environment, know their own history.
Style: Poetic, speculative. Sterling writes with flair.