This article is about the futurist ideology and movement. For the critique of humanism, see posthumanism. For the pattern of seasonal migration, see transhumance. This page has some issues Transhumanism (abbreviated as H+ or h+) is an international cultural and intellectual movement with an eventual goal of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities.[1] Transhumanist thinkers study the potential benefits and dangers of emerging technologies that could overcome fundamental human limitations, as well as study the ethical matters involved in developing and using such technologies. They predict that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label posthuman.[1] The contemporary meaning of the term transhumanism was foreshadowed by one of the first professors of futurology, FM-2030, who taught new concepts of the Human at The New School in the 1960s, when he began to identify people who adopt technologies, lifestyles and worldviews transitional to posthumanity as transhuman.[2] This hypothesis would lay the intellectual groundwork for the British philosopher Max More to begin articulating the principles of transhumanism as a futurist philosophy in 1990, and organizing in California an intelligentsia that has since grown into the worldwide transhumanist movement.[2][3][4] Influenced by seminal works of science fiction, the transhumanist vision of a transformed future humanity has attracted many supporters and detractors from a wide range of perspectives.[2] Transhumanism has been characterized by one critic, Francis Fukuyama, as among the worlds most dangerous ideas,[5] to which Ronald Bailey countered that it is rather the movement that epitomizes the most daring, courageous, imaginative, and idealistic aspirations of humanity.[6] HistoryEdit Cover of the first issue of h+ Magazine, a web-based quarterly publication that focuses on transhumanism, covering the scientific, technological, and cultural developments that are challenging and overcoming human limitations. According to Nick Bostrom,[1] transcendentalist impulses have been expressed at least as far back as in the quest for immortality in the Epic of Gilgamesh, as well as historical quests for the Fountain of Youth, Elixir of Life, and other efforts to stave off aging and death. Despite its exaltation of the Übermensch (overman or superhuman), there is debate within the transhumanist community over whether the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche can be considered an influence due to its emphasis on self-actualization rather than technological transformation.[1][7][8][9] Nikolai Fyodorov, a 19th-century Russian philosopher, advocated radical life extension, physical immortality, and even resurrection of the dead using scientific methods.[10] In the 20th century, a direct and influential precursor to transhumanist concepts was geneticist J.B.S. Haldanes 1923 essay Daedalus: Science and the Future, which predicted that great benefits would come from applications of advanced sciences to human biology—and that every such advance would first appear to someone as blasphemy or perversion, indecent and unnatural. J. D. Bernal speculated about space colonization, bionic implants, and cognitive enhancement, which have been common transhumanist themes since then.[1] Biologist Julian Huxley, brother of author Aldous Huxley (a childhood friend of Haldanes), appears to have coined the word transhumanism. Writing in 1957, he defined transhumanism as man remaining man, but transcending himself, by realizing new possibilities of and for his human nature.[11] This definition differs[citation needed], albeit not substantially, from the one commonly in use since the 1980s. Computer scientist Marvin Minsky wrote on relationships between human and artificial intelligence beginning in the 1960s.[12] Over the succeeding decades, this field continued to generate influential thinkers, such as Hans Moravec and Raymond Kurzweil, who oscillated between the technical arena and futuristic speculations in the transhumanist vein.[13][14] The coalescence of an identifiable transhumanist movement began in the last decades of the 20th century. In 1966, FM-2030 (formerly F.M. Esfandiary), a futurist who taught new concepts of the Human at The New School in New York City, began to identify people who adopt technologies, lifestyles and world views transitional to posthumanity as transhuman.[15] In 1972, Robert Ettinger contributed to the conceptualization of transhumanity in his book Man into Superman.[16][17] FM-2030 published the Upwingers Manifesto in 1973.[18]Beginning in 1976, Timothy Leary and Robert Anton Wilson promulgated, based on their eight circuit model of consciousness, their SMI^2LE program, which means Space Migration, Intelligence Increase, and Life Extension[19] The first self-described transhumanists met formally in the early 1980s at the University of California, Los Angeles, which became the main center of transhumanist thought. Here, FM-2030 lectured on his Third Way futurist ideology. At the EZTV Media venue frequented by transhumanists and other futurists, Natasha Vita-More presented Breaking Away, her 1980 experimental film with the theme of humans breaking away from their biological limitations and the Earths gravity as they head into space.[20][21] FM-2030 and Vita-More soon began holding gatherings for transhumanists in Los Angeles, which included students from FM-2030s courses and audiences from Vita-Mores artistic productions. In 1982, Vita-More authored the Transhumanist Arts Statement,[22] and, six years later, produced the cable TV show TransCentury Update on transhumanity, a program which reached over 100,000 viewers. In 1986, Eric Drexler published Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology,[23] which discussed the prospects for nanotechnology and molecular assemblers, and founded the Foresight Institute. As the first non-profit organization to research, advocate for, and perform cryonics, the Southern California offices of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation became a center for futurists. In 1988, the first issue of Extropy Magazine was published by Max More and Tom Morrow. In 1990, More, a strategic philosopher, created his own particular transhumanist doctrine, which took the form of the Principles of Extropy,[24] and laid the foundation of modern transhumanism by giving it a new definition:[25] Transhumanism is a class of philosophies that seek to guide us towards a posthuman condition. Transhumanism shares many elements of humanism, including a respect for reason and science, a commitment to progress, and a valuing of human (or transhuman) existence in this life. [...] Transhumanism differs from humanism in recognizing and anticipating the radical alterations in the nature and possibilities of our lives resulting from various sciences and technologies [...]. In 1992, More and Morrow founded the Extropy Institute, a catalyst for networking futurists and brainstorming new memeplexes by organizing a series of conferences and, more importantly, providing a mailing list, which exposed many to transhumanist views for the first time during the rise of cyberculture and the cyberdelic counterculture. In 1998, philosophers Nick Bostrom and David Pearce founded the World Transhumanist Association (WTA), an international non-governmental organization working toward the recognition of transhumanism as a legitimate subject of scientific inquiry and public policy.[26] In 2002, the WTA modified and adopted The Transhumanist Declaration.[27] The Transhumanist FAQ, prepared by the WTA, gave two formal definitions for transhumanism:[28] The intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally improving the human condition through applied reason, especially by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities. The study of the ramifications, promises, and potential dangers of technologies that will enable us to overcome fundamental human limitations, and the related study of the ethical matters involved in developing and using such technologies. A number of similar definitions have been collected by Anders Sandberg, an academic and prominent transhumanist.[29] In possible contrast with other transhumanist organizations, WTA officials considered that social forces could undermine their futurist visions and needed to be addressed.[2] A particular concern is the equal access to human enhancement technologies across classes and borders.[30] In 2006, a political struggle within the transhumanist movement between the libertarian right and the liberal left resulted in a more centre-leftward positioning of the WTA under its former executive director James Hughes.[30][31] In 2006, the board of directors of the Extropy Institute ceased operations of the organization, stating that its mission was essentially completed.[32] This left the World Transhumanist Association as the leading international transhumanist organization. In 2008, as part of a rebranding effort, the WTA changed its name to Humanity+.[33] Humanity Plus and Betterhumans publish h+ Magazine, a periodical edited by R. U. Sirius which disseminates transhumanist news and ideas.[34][35] The first transhumanist elected member of a Parliament is Giuseppe Vatinno, in Italy.[36] TheoryEdit See also: Outline of transhumanism It is a matter of debate whether transhumanism is a branch of posthumanism and how posthumanism should be conceptualised with regard to transhumanism. The latter is often referred to as a variant or activist form of posthumanism by its conservative,[5] Christian[37] and progressive[38][39] critics. A common feature of transhumanism and philosophical posthumanism is the future vision of a new intelligent species, into which humanity will evolve, which will supplement humanity or supersede it. Transhumanism stresses the evolutionary perspective, including sometimes the creation of a highly intelligent animal species by way of cognitive enhancement (i.e. biological uplift),[2] but clings to a posthuman future as the final goal of participant evolution.[40] Nevertheless, the idea of creating intelligent artificial beings, proposed, for example, by roboticist Hans Moravec, has influenced transhumanism.[13] Moravecs ideas and transhumanism have also been characterised as a complacent or apocalyptic variant of posthumanism and contrasted with cultural posthumanism in humanities and the arts.[41] While such a cultural posthumanism would offer resources for rethinking the relations of humans and increasingly sophisticated machines, transhumanism and similar posthumanisms are, in this view, not abandoning obsolete concepts of the autonomous liberal subject but are expanding its prerogatives into the realm of the posthuman.[42] Transhumanist self-characterisations as a continuation of humanism and Enlightenment thinking correspond with this view. Some secular humanists conceive transhumanism as an offspring of the humanist freethought movement and argue that transhumanists differ from the humanist mainstream by having a specific focus on technological approaches to resolving human concerns (i.e. technocentrism) and on the issue of mortality.[43] However, other progressives have argued that posthumanism, whether it be its philosophical or activist forms, amount to a shift away from concerns about social justice, from the reform of human institutions and from other Enlightenment preoccupations, toward narcissistic longings for a transcendence of the human body in quest of more exquisite ways of being.[44] In this view, transhumanism is abandoning the goals of humanism, the Enlightenment, and progressive politics. The philosophy of transhumanism is closely related to technoself studies; an interdisciplinary domain of scholarly research dealing with all aspects of human identity in a technological society focusing on the changing nature of relationships between the human and technology. Aims Countdown to Singularity (Raymond Kurzweil)[clarification needed] While many transhumanist theorists and advocates seek to apply reason, science, and technology for the purposes of reducing poverty, disease, disability, and malnutrition around the globe,[28] transhumanism is distinctive in its particular focus on the applications of technologies to the improvement of human bodies at the individual level. Many transhumanists actively assess the potential for future technologies and innovative social systems to improve the quality of all life, while seeking to make the material reality of the human condition fulfill the promise of legal and political equality by eliminating congenital mental and physical barriers. Transhumanist philosophers argue that there not only exists a perfectionist ethical imperative for humans to strive for progress and improvement of the human condition but that it is possible and desirable for humanity to enter a transhuman phase of existence, in which humans are in control of their own evolution. In such a phase, natural evolution would be replaced with deliberate change. Some theorists, such as Raymond Kurzweil, think that the pace of technological innovation is accelerating and that the next 50 years may yield not only radical technological advances but possibly a technological singularity, which may fundamentally change the nature of human beings.[45] Transhumanists who foresee this massive technological change generally maintain that it is desirable. However, some are also concerned with the possible dangers of extremely rapid technological change and propose options for ensuring that advanced technology is used responsibly. For example, Bostrom has written extensively on existential risks to humanitys future welfare, including risks that could be created by emerging technologies.[46] While many people believe that all Transhumanists are striving for immortality, it is not necessarily true. Hank Pellissier, managing director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (2011-2012), now held by Kris Notaro (2012- ) surveyed Transhumanists, and of the 818 respondents, 23.8% did not want immortality.[47] Some of the reasons were that they would be bored, Earth’s overpopulation, and that “they wanted to go to an afterlife.”[47] Ethics Transhumanists engage in interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and evaluating possibilities for overcoming biological limitations by drawing on futurology and various fields of ethics. Unlike many philosophers, social critics, and activists who place a moral value on preservation of natural systems, transhumanists see the very concept of the specifically natural as problematically nebulous at best, and an obstacle to progress at worst.[48] In keeping with this, many prominent transhumanist advocates refer to transhumanisms critics on the political right and left jointly as bioconservatives or bioluddites, the latter term alluding to the 19th century anti-industrialisation social movement that opposed the replacement of human manual labourers by machines.[49] Many believe that transhumanism can cause unfair human enhancement in many areas of life, but specifically on the social plane. This can be compared to steroid use where if one athlete uses steroids in sports he has an advantage over those who do not. The same scenario can happen when people have certain neural implants that gives them an advantage in the work place and in educational aspects.[50] Currents There is a variety of opinion within transhumanist thought. Many of the leading transhumanist thinkers hold views that are under constant revision and development.[51] Some distinctive currents of transhumanism are identified and listed here in alphabetical order: Abolitionism, an ethical ideology based upon a perceived obligation to use technology to eliminate involuntary suffering in all sentient life.[52] Democratic transhumanism, a political ideology synthesizing liberal democracy, social democracy, radical democracy and transhumanism.[53] Extropianism, an early school of transhumanist thought characterized by a set of principles advocating a proactive approach to human evolution.[25] Immortalism, a moral ideology based upon the belief that technological immortality is possible and desirable, and advocating research and development to ensure its realization.[54] Libertarian transhumanism, a political ideology synthesizing libertarianism and transhumanism.[49] Postgenderism, a social philosophy which seeks the voluntary elimination of gender in the human species through the application of advanced biotechnology and assisted reproductive technologies.[55] Singularitarianism, a moral ideology based upon the belief that a technological singularity is possible, and advocating deliberate action to effect it and ensure its safety.[45] Technogaianism, an ecological ideology based upon the belief that emerging technologies can help restore Earths environment, and that developing safe, clean, alternative technology should therefore be an important goal of environmentalists.[53] Spirituality Although some transhumanists report having religious or spiritual views, they are for the most part atheists, agnostics or secular humanists.[26] Despite the prevailing secular attitude, some transhumanists pursue hopes traditionally espoused by religions, such as immortality,[54] while several controversial new religious movements, originating in the late 20th century, have explicitly embraced transhumanist goals of transforming the human condition by applying technology to the alteration of the mind and body, such as Raëlism.[56] However, most thinkers associated with the transhumanist movement focus on the practical goals of using technology to help achieve longer and healthier lives; while speculating that future understanding of neurotheology and the application of neurotechnology will enable humans to gain greater control of altered states of consciousness, which were commonly interpreted as spiritual experiences, and thus achieve more profound self-knowledge.[57] Many transhumanists argue that transhumanism should be seen as a secularist faith.[citation needed] Transhumanism secularizes traditional religious themes, goals and concerns while supporting technology with religious significance. Many transhumanists believe in the compatibility of human minds with computer hardware, with the theoretical implication that human consciousness may someday be transferred to alternative media, a speculative technique commonly known as mind uploading.[58] One extreme formulation of this idea, which some transhumanists are interested in, is the proposal of the Omega Point by Christian cosmologist Frank Tipler. Drawing upon ideas in digitalism, Tipler has advanced the notion that the collapse of the Universe billions of years hence could create the conditions for the perpetuation of humanity in a simulated reality within a megacomputer, and thus achieve a form of posthuman godhood. Tiplers thought was inspired by the writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a paleontologist and Jesuit theologian who saw an evolutionary telos in the development of an encompassing noosphere, a global consciousness.[59][60][61] Viewed from the perspective of some Christian thinkers, the idea of mind uploading is asserted to represent a denigration of the human body characteristic of gnostic manichaean belief.[62] Transhumanism and its presumed intellectual progenitors have also been described as neo-gnostic by non-Christian and secular commentators.[63][64] The first dialogue between transhumanism and faith was a one day conference held at the University of Toronto in 2004.[65] Religious critics alone faulted the philosophy of transhumanism as offering no eternal truths nor a relationship with the divine. They commented that a philosophy bereft of these beliefs leaves humanity adrift in a foggy sea of postmodern cynicism and anomie. Transhumanists responded that such criticisms reflect a failure to look at the actual content of the transhumanist philosophy, which far from being cynical, is rooted in optimistic, idealistic attitudes that trace back to the Enlightenment.[66] Following this dialogue, William Sims Bainbridge, a sociologist of religion, conducted a pilot study, published in the Journal of Evolution and Technology, suggesting that religious attitudes were negatively correlated with acceptance of transhumanist ideas, and indicating that individuals with highly religious worldviews tended to perceive transhumanism as being a direct, competitive (though ultimately futile) affront to their spiritual beliefs.[67] Since 2009, the American Academy of Religion holds a Transhumanism and Religion consultation during its annual meeting where scholars in the field of religious studies seek to identify and critically evaluate any implicit religious beliefs that might underlie key transhumanist claims and assumptions; consider how transhumanism challenges religious traditions to develop their own ideas of the human future, in particular the prospect of human transformation, whether by technological or other means; and provide critical and constructive assessments of an envisioned future that place greater confidence in nanotechnology, robotics, and information technology to achieve virtual immortality and create a superior posthuman species.[68]
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