Editing Prosthesis (section)

== Cultural and social theory perspectives ==
A number of theorists have explored the meaning and implications of prosthetic extension of the body. [[Elizabeth Grosz]] writes, "Creatures use tools, ornaments, and appliances to augment their bodily capacities. Are their bodies lacking something, which they need to replace with artificial or substitute organs?...Or conversely, should prostheses be understood, in terms of aesthetic reorganization and proliferation, as the consequence of an inventiveness that functions beyond and perhaps in defiance of pragmatic need?"<ref>Grosz, Elizabeth (2003). "Prosthetic Objects" in ''The State of Architecture at the Beginning of the 21st Century''. pp. 96–97. The Monacelli Press. {{ISBN|1580931340}}.</ref> [[Elaine Scarry]] argues that every artifact recreates and extends the body. Chairs supplement the skeleton, tools append the hands, clothing augments the skin.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Body in Pain: The Making and Unmaking of the World|last=Scarry|first=Elaine|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1985}}</ref> In Scarry's thinking, "furniture and houses are neither more nor less interior to the human body than the food it absorbs, nor are they fundamentally different from such sophisticated prosthetics as artificial lungs, eyes and kidneys. The consumption of manufactured things turns the body inside out, opening it up ''to'' and ''as'' the culture of objects."<ref>Lupton and Miller (1992). "Streamlining: The Aesthetics of Waste" in Taylor, M. and Preston, J. (eds.) 2006. ''Intimus: Interior Design Theory Reader''. pp. 204–212. {{ISBN|978-0-470-01570-4}}.</ref> [[Mark Wigley]], a professor of architecture, continues this line of thinking about how architecture supplements our natural capabilities, and argues that "a blurring of identity is produced by all prostheses."<ref>{{cite journal |last = Wigley |first = Mark |title=Prosthetic Theory: The Disciplining of Architecture|journal=Assemblage|issue=15|pages=6–29 |doi=10.2307/3171122 |jstor=3171122|year=1991 }}</ref> Some of this work relies on [[Sigmund Freud|Freud]]'s earlier characterization of man's relation to objects as one of extension.

=== Negative social implications ===
Prosthetics play a vital role in how a person perceives themselves and how other people perceive them. The ability to conceal such use enabled participants to ward off social stigmatization that in turn enabled their social integration and the reduction of emotional problems surrounding such disability.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Murray |first=Craig D. |date=May 2005 |title=The social meanings of prosthesis use |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15857872/#:~:text=It%20is%20concluded%20that%20prosthesis,emotional%20problems%20surrounding%20such%20disability |journal=Journal of Health Psychology |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=425–441 |doi=10.1177/1359105305051431 |issn=1359-1053 |pmid=15857872}}</ref> People that lose a limb first have to deal with the emotional result of losing that limb. Regardless of the reasons for amputation, whether due to traumatic causes or as a consequence of illness, emotional shock exists. It may have a smaller or larger amplitude depending on a variety of factors such as patient age, medical culture, medical cause, etc. As a result of amputation, the research participants' reports were loaded with drama. The first emotional response to amputation was one of despair, a severe sense of self-collapse, something almost unbearable.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last1=Roșca |first1=Andra Cătălina |last2=Baciu |first2=Cosmin Constantin |last3=Burtăverde |first3=Vlad |last4=Mateizer |first4=Alexandru |date=2021-05-26 |title=Psychological Consequences in Patients With Amputation of a Limb. An Interpretative-Phenomenological Analysis |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=12 |pages=537493 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2021.537493 |issn=1664-1078 |pmc=8189153 |pmid=34122200 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Emotional factors are just a small part of looking at social implications. Many people who lose a limb may have lots of anxiety surrounding prosthetics and their limbs. After surgery, for an extended period of time, the interviewed patients from the National Library of Medicine noticed the appearance and increase of anxiety. A lot of negative thoughts invaded their minds. Projections about the future were grim, marked by sadness, helplessness, and even despair. Existential uncertainty, lack of control, and further anticipated losses in one's life due to amputation were the primary causes of anxiety and consequently ruminations and insomnia.<ref name=":8" /> From losing a leg and getting a prosthetics there were also many factors that can happen including anger and regret. The amputation of a limb is associated not only with physical loss and change in body image but also with an abrupt severing in one's sense of continuity. For participants with amputation as a result of physical trauma the event is often experienced as a transgression and can lead to frustration and anger.<ref name=":8" />

=== Ethical concerns ===

There are also many ethical concerns about how the prosthetics are made and produced. A wide range of ethical issues arise in connection with experiments and clinical usage of sensory prostheses: animal experimentation; informed consent, for instance, in patients with a locked-in syndrome that may be alleviated with a sensory prosthesis; unrealistic expectations of research subjects testing new devices.<ref>{{Citation |last=Hansson |first=Sven Ove |title=Ethical Implications of Sensory Prostheses |date=2015 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4707-4_46 |work=Handbook of Neuroethics |pages=785–797 |editor-last=Clausen |editor-first=Jens |access-date=2023-11-27 |place=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer Netherlands |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-94-007-4707-4_46 |isbn=978-94-007-4707-4 |editor2-last=Levy |editor2-first=Neil|url-access=subscription }}</ref> How prosthetics come to be and testing of the usability of the device is a major concern in the medical world. Although many positives come when a new prosthetic design is announced, how the device got to where it is leads to some questioning the ethics of prosthetics.

=== Debates ===

There are also many debates among the prosthetic community about whether they should wear prosthetics at all. This is sparked by whether prosthetics help in day-to-day living or make it harder. Many people have adapted to their loss of limb making it work for them and do not need a prosthesis in their life. Not all amputees will wear a prosthesis. In a 2011 national survey of Australian amputees, Limbs 4 Life found that 7 percent of amputees do not wear a prosthesis, and in another Australian hospital study, this number was closer to 20 percent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Not everyone uses a prosthesis |url=https://www.limbs4life.org.au/news-events/news/not-everyone-uses-a-prosthesis |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=Limbs 4 life |language=en}}</ref> Many people report being uncomfortable in prostheses and not wanting to wear them, even reporting that wearing a prosthetic is more cumbersome than not having one at all. These debates are natural among the prosthetic community and help us shed light on the issues that they are facing.