Meaghan McGann

Dr. Schuchardt
Studies in Media Ecology
31 October 2015
Extending McLuhans Extensions of Man
The Greek myth of Narcissus illustrates how men become fascinated with their own
image as it becomes an extension of themselves. A replicate of a person, however it is projected,
will always be an extension and not an identity because replicates are made real only through
mediums. In his book, Understanding Media, McLuhan uses the example of Narcissus catching
his own reflection via the medium of a reflection in a pond. The myth describes how Narcissus
became so enraptured with his own image that he eventually drowned, consumed by the very
medium that displayed his image. This mythic account may be interpreted as hyperbole for mans
fascination with his outward appearance. McLuhan provokes this idea further with his inclusion
that, there have been cynics who insisted that men fall deepest in love with women who give
them back their own image(51). In this paper I will delve deeper into McLuhans provocation
that people try to extend their extensions of themselves onto their significant others. I will use
the theories of assortative mating and convergence of appearance to further flesh out the
implications of McLuhans proposal.
It is no great secret that people often marry or engage in relationships with others who
have similar viewpoints and backgrounds as themselves. Studies performed by the University of
Colorado Boulder suggest that these propensities toward similarities may even go beyond
environmental and cultural similarities into genetics. While genetic assortative mating has only
about one third of the strength of educational assortative mating according to the study, genetic
phenotypes between those in romantic relationships tend to share more resemblance to each
other than genetic phenotypes between randomly selected individuals. What does this suggest in

terms of McLuhans theory? McLuhan comments on the numbness that occurs when people
extend themselves beyond their bodies; he proposes that this numbness is an attempt to maintain
physiological equilibrium. If a possibility existed in which one might extend this equilibrium
onto another being perhaps the desire for numbness would dissipate. McLuhan suggests that
technological extensions function as a self-amputation and self amputation forbids selfrecognition(52). A technological medium contains no essence of being. Even as far as
technology has progressed and will continue to progress, there will never be a technology that
possesses enough being as to reflect the human self without a necessary self-amputation. Human
relationships are not technological. If one human were to extend their being onto another human,
the extension would not be self-amputation but actual reflection. An extension into a non-living
entity is inevitably going to be self-amputation because an extension of a living being onto a
non-living thing will not take on new life. One has to have being from origin if one is to have
any being at all; thus technological mediums may not have being even as extensions of human
beings. The only way to negate self-amputation in extension of being is if the extension involves
another living being. When people attempt to find their mate, they are looking for someone to
share their being with. The extension of oneself onto another being then is more of a union than
an actual extension of oneself. It is the union of two separate extensions in the sense that they
unite with the inner understanding of another. When this type of union occurs, it is not
uncommon that one being may begin to reflect the other. In the pursuit of this kind of union, it is
understandable that one might pursue another with similar propensities--propensities that might
even already bear resemblance to reflections of the other. Common experience lends to common
understanding, thus people tend to be attracted to those with pre-existing similarities. The theory
of assortative mating subconsciously asserts the desire for similarity in ones mate, this similarity

revealed in an ability to reflect the other. Assortative mating accounts for this within both
environmental and genetic spheres. Pre-existing similarities create grounds for resemblance of
being, these grounds for resemblance of being allow the inner understanding to better accept and
acknowledge the extension of the other.
As a couple unites their inner understandings with each other's extensions--as their
intimacy increases--they inevitably bear reflections of each other. This idea is manifested in the
theory of convergence of appearance. Even if couples do not share similar external
characteristics when they begin their relationship, the theory of convergence of appearance
suggests they may begin to look like one another after extended time in close proximity with
each other. Studies revealed in the journal of Motivation and Emotion explain that shared
emotional states over the duration of intimate relationships contribute to the development of
similar physical features. Inner intimacy, the intimacy of emotions, appears to manifest itself in
external appearance. The more in tune a couple gets with each others emotions throughout the
duration of their relationship (especially if it is an extended relationship, i.e. marriage) the more
resemblance they will bear to each other. The union of their inner understandings with their
mates outer extension begins to become manifest in their own external appearance. This is the
truest and most pure form of the extension of man: When one beings inner state becomes
reflected in the outer state of another being. The medium in this case would be being and the
message would be intimacy or union. This is also the most accurate case of reflection. Any
reflection must be perceived through a medium. It is impossible for humans to take in their
external image apart from a reflection through a medium. When the medium exists as another
being, a being who has come to reflect the other due to a shared emotional and internal intimacy,
only then can a reflection be even remotely captured. This is contrary to the extension of people

into technology, in which self-amputation is inevitable. Convergence of appearance suggests an

extension of being as reflective of union, rather than self-amputation.
In the pursuit of romantic companionship, there exists a desire to be understood by ones
potential mate. This desire subconsciously manifests itself as it is enacted in assortative mating.
In their longing to capture their own reflection, people are attracted to others with similar
environmental, cultural and genetic predispositions. As intimacy increases with ones mate, they
take on the extension of their partner and convergence of appearance occurs. The extension of
being that occurs within romantic human relationships exists contrary to the extension of being
portrayed by Narcissus enamorment with his own reflected image in the pond. A true reflection
of being that does not entail self-amputation requires not only an external resemblance but an
internal understanding from which flows the union of internal being with the others projected
extension.

Works Cited
McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. 1964. Print.
University of Colorado at Boulder. "I like your genes: People more likely to choose a spouse
with similar DNA." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 19 May 2014.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140519160716.htm>.
"Why Do We Get Goose Bumps When We're Scared? Why Do Older Married Couples Look
Alike?" Popular Science. 279.5 (2011): 90-91. Print.
Zajonc, R B, Pamela K. Adelmann, Sheila T. Murphy, and Paula M. Niedenthal. "Convergence
in the Physical Appearance of Spouses." Motivation and Emotion. 11.4 (1987): 335-346.
Print.