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Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement that advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies that can greatly enhance longevity, cognition, and well-being.[1][2][3]
Transhumanist thinkers study the potential benefits and dangers of emerging technologies that could overcome fundamental human limitations, as well as the ethics[4] of using such technologies. Some transhumanists believe that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into beings with abilities so greatly expanded from the current condition as to merit the label of posthuman beings.[2]
Another topic of transhumanist research is how to protect humanity against existential risks, such as nuclear war or asteroid collision.[5][better source needed]
Julian Huxley was a biologist who popularised the term transhumanism in a 1957 essay.[6] The contemporary meaning of the term "transhumanism" was foreshadowed by one of the first professors of futurology, a man who changed his name to FM-2030. In the 1960s, he taught "new concepts of the human" at The New School when he began to identify people who adopt technologies, lifestyles, and worldviews "transitional" to posthumanity as "transhuman".[7] The assertion 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 a school of thought that has since grown into the worldwide transhumanist movement.[7][8][9]
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, including philosophy and religion.[7]
In 2017, Penn State University Press, in cooperation with philosopher Stefan Lorenz Sorgner and sociologist James Hughes, established the Journal of Posthuman Studies[10] as the first academic journal explicitly dedicated to the posthuman, with the goal of clarifying the notions of posthumanism and transhumanism, as well as comparing and contrasting both.
Transhumanism is often compared, especially in the media, to the Nazi project to improve the race in a eugenic sense. This is denied by Sorgner: "It is also false to identify transhumanists with Nazi ideology, as Habermas does, because Nazis are in favor of a totalitarian political organization, whereas transhumanists uphold the value of liberal democracies."[11]
- ^ Mercer, Calvin; Throten, Tracy J., eds. (2015). Religion and Transhumanism: The Unknown Future of Human Enhancement. Praeger. ISBN 978-1-4408-3325-0.
- ^ a b Bostrom, Nick (2005). "A history of transhumanist thought" (PDF). Journal of Evolution and Technology. 14 (1): 1–25. Retrieved February 21, 2006.
- ^ Hopkins, P. D. (2012). "Transhumanism". Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics (Second Edition): 414–422. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-373932-2.00243-X. ISBN 978-0-12-373932-2.
- ^ "We May Look Crazy to Them, But They Look Like Zombies to Us: Transhumanism as a Political Challenge". Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
- ^ Kirsch, Adam (June 20, 2020). "Looking Forward to the End of Humanity". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Huxley 1957was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
Hughes 2004was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Gelles 2009was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Google Ngram Viewer. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
- ^ "Journal of Posthuman Studies: Philosophy, Technology, Media".
- ^ Sorgner, Stefan Lorenz (2010). "Beyond Humanism: Reflections on Trans- and Posthumanism". Journal of Evolution and Technology. Retrieved May 24, 2023. Section 9.