Is Joey a Cyborg?
When dealing with Joey, Bettelheim did not wish to strip Joey from his machinery. He allowed Joey to embrace it and be a part of it. Bettelheim's mission was to help Joey be able to distinguish between himself and the machinery. It was never to create a human being that had nothing to do with machines. On the contrary Bettelheim used the machines as a tool in Joey's therapy.
In our daily lives, we work with machines every single day. We could not have functioned the same without them. They exist today to help us work more effectively and efficiently, communicate faster, connect to the world in a better way. In some ways, we are all cyborgs. Machines have become a part of us. So, how are we different from Joey? Why is he the exceptional case?
The difference lies in the agency of the human being. In Joey's case, the machines are in control of him and he has no control over his body. However, normal human beings operate the machines, they are in control of their own bodies and the machines are merely tools that assist us with our needs. This is why Bettelheim is not trying to externalize Joey from his machinery but rather he wants Joey to accept his machinery as something he can control and that the machines cannot control him.
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