From circle to square: Integrity, vulnerability and digitalization

The principle of integrity emerges in various contexts and seems applicable to a broad range of entities. For example, one may speak about the integrity of nations (to be safeguarded from external intrusions), about the integrity of lab animals (exposed to animal experimentation and genetic modification) or even about the integrity of species (endangered by biotechnology). We may also speak about integrity as a virtue, pertaining to a human subject, for instance when referring to the integrity of politicians or physicians. In my paper, I will restrict myself to the integrity of one particular ‘entity’, namely the human body, an issue that is complicated and perplexing enough for one paper. Can we, as Peter Kemp elsewhere in this volume phrases it, advance from mere perplexity to complexity? I think we can. The human body is not an entity that is simply present within our world, not something which is ready-at-hand. We