Transhumanism is the philosophy centered around the belief that the human condition can and should be improved using technological means. This can manifest in many different disciplines, from cryogenics to genetic engineering to nanotechnology.1

 

History

The desires underlying transhumanism have a long history. As far back as the Epic of Gilgamesh, human literature includes the quest for immortality or godhood, becoming greater than one’s physical condition. Prominent historical figures, such as Benjamin Franklin, have often written desirously of using technology to extend human lifespans, or to otherwise improve the ability of individual human bodies.1 The term itself was popularized in a 1957 collection by biologist Julian Huxley, in which he describes it with “the human species can, if it wishes, transcend itself . . . man remaining man, but transcending himself, by realizing new possibilities of and for his human nature.”2

However, transhumanism would remain a decentralized movement until the founding of the World Transhumanist Association in 1998, later renamed Humanity+.3

 

Theory

The Transhumanist FAQ prepared by Humanity+ offers two definitions for transhumanism:

1. 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.

2. 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.4

 

Transhumanism envisions a future in evolutionary terms, in which humanity has evolved into a posthuman species exceeding the normal limitations of human beings, through the application of various technologies. Despite the definitions given, transhumanism can be said to broadly include any application of technology with the intent of directly modifying the human body.

Of particular note is life extension, which garners a special attention from many transhumanist thinkers, including Nick Bostrom, one of the founders of Humanity+. Technological immortality is perceived as the key component of a posthuman future, one in which the greatest limitation placed on humanity by nature—aging, and ultimately death—is conquered.1

However, life extension is far from the only potential bodily modification pursued by transhumanist organizations and individuals, and indeed many transhumanists profess no desire for bodily immortality. Other applications of transhumanism, particularly in medicine, are not to be overlooked. Transhumanism includes such futuristic technologies as robotic limbs, genetic engineering to remove genetic diseases, and neural implants, among many others.5

Transhumanists hold many different political beliefs. Some approach such technology through the lens of libertarianism, where it is the right of the individual who has the means to choose to augment themself, while others argue for democratic transhumanism, where humanity progresses equally towards evolution.6

The notion of the posthuman species in transhumanism is one that sparks much debate, internally and externally. It also is sometimes related to other, similar but distinct concepts, such as the technological singularity.

 

Posthumanism

There is debate as to whether transhumanist and posthumanist conceptions of the posthuman are related. While the terminology used is similar, ultimately the two have very different methodologies and intentions. Transhumanism focuses on technology as a means with which to achieve their vision of a humanity that has evolved beyond current humanity, which they term posthumanity. Conversely, posthumanism is a field of philosophical inquiry that seeks to adjust various fields to move past the problems of classism, ethnocentrism, speciesism, and others that have historically plagued humanism. The transhumanist posthuman is quite literally that, a being that comes after and has supposedly surpassed current humans, while the posthumanist posthuman is less an entity and more a state wherein humanity has moved past some of its limiting views to have a less anthropocentric view of existence and the place of humanity within it.6

 

Criticism

Critics of transhumanism have come from many different camps. To some there is a religious element, but criticism can come from many non-religious perspectives as well.

One common criticism focuses on the potential social inequalities resulting from transhumanist pursuits. In a capitalist society, any bodily modifications would be costly, and likely out of the reach of the non-wealthy. If these bodily modifications indeed drastically improve one’s lifespan, intelligence, or other capabilities, it could lead to a society in which the economic upper class is also physically and intellectually superior to the lower classes who cannot afford such modifications, strangling social mobility and equality. Furthermore, life extension or immortality for the economic elite would prevent their accumulated wealth from dispersing or otherwise re-entering circulation as may occur upon one’s death.7

Another criticism argues that the advancement of bodily modification technologies could result in a revival of eugenics. The advent of genetically engineered offspring could involve the selection of traits culturally viewed as desirable, such as conventional attractiveness, and therefore the extinction of physical traits that do not fit the dominant culture’s vision of conventional attractiveness. For example, a society that valued black hair could result in a humanity that only has black hair, as children naturally without black hair are engineering to have black hair. This compounds with the aforementioned issue of class inequalities, potentially creating a conventionally attractive economic elite and a conventionally unattractive lower class.8

A further argument often raised in response to the pursuit of human immortality centers on the philosophy of the mind. Specifically, if bodily modification indeed causes humanity to become some posthuman species, would that result in a change in organismal identity? Would posthumans not feel any more sympathetic to humans than humans do to animals, for instance, by virtue of the posthuman experience?9

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Furthermore, there is even greater disagreement with regard to the singularity. The singularity is a hypothetical scenario where ultraintelligent AI is created, AI that is more intelligent in every possible way than humans. This AI, then, would be best at making more AI, and those AI would make even more intelligent AI, and so on, and there is a theorized explosion of technological progress faster than human brainpower could support. This would put the future of human civilization in AI hands, opening the door for the flood of questions that AI mind-having brings.10