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Quotation Archive

Donna Haraway Quote on the Cyborg: The Cyborg Hybrid

Haraway defines the cyborg as a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality and fiction. A cyborg manifesto for posthumanist philosophy.

Quotation archive

“A cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction.”

Donna Haraway · A Cyborg Manifesto

Quote record

Author

Donna Haraway

Source

A Cyborg Manifesto

Chapter / location

1985

Tradition

haraway · cyborg · posthumanism · feminism · hybridity

Source information

From A Cyborg Manifesto, 1985.

Original language: English

Translation

Translated from English into English using a named scholarly edition.

Context

Read the contextual commentary in this archive entry.

Interpretation

Haraway defines the cyborg as a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality and fiction. A cyborg manifesto for posthumanist philosophy.

Knowledge network

Related Archive Records

Historical Context

This passage is attributed to Donna Haraway in A Cyborg Manifesto. Haraway defines the cyborg as a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality and fiction. A cyborg manifesto for posthumanist philosophy. The wording should be checked against Donna Haraway, Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature, because edition, translation, and location determine how confidently the sentence can be quoted and interpreted.

Meaning

In context, “A cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction.” addresses concerns linked to haraway, cyborg, posthumanism, feminism, hybridity. Its force depends on the contrast or problem surrounding it, not merely on the sentence in isolation. A sound reading distinguishes the literal claim, the rhetorical emphasis, and any broader conclusion readers may be tempted to add.

For Donna Haraway Quote on the Cyborg: The Cyborg Hybrid, the key interpretive question is what the quoted words are doing in the argument: defining a concept, drawing a contrast, warning the reader, or compressing a longer line of reasoning. Answering that question requires the surrounding paragraphs and the intended audience, especially when a translated term may carry several meanings.

Philosophical Interpretation

The passage indexed as Donna Haraway Quote on the Cyborg: The Cyborg Hybrid can be compared with Donna Haraway, Posthumanism, Identity, Imagination, What Is Feminist Philosophy. One interpretation emphasizes the author’s immediate argument; another asks how the wording applies beyond its original setting. Both require limits: a memorable quotation can illuminate a position, but it cannot substitute for the reasons and qualifications developed in the source work.

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Archive references

Sources

1 scholarly source
  • 01
    Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of NatureBy Donna HarawayConsult source
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Source and quality checks completed

Quality check completed 2026-08-17

◈Based on 1 scholarly source◈Last updated 2026-08-17