Transhumanism

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Logo of Transhumanism, short: H+ or h+
Humani Victus Instrumenta: Ars Coquinaria, by an unknown Italien engraver (c. 1570)
The Shadow robot hand system

Transhumanism[1] (from Latin: trans "beyond" and humanus "human"), in short H+ or h+, which is predominantly widespread in the Anglo-Saxon world, comprises various heterogeneous philosophical-ideological currents that have in common that they want to improve and expand the physical and/or mental abilities of humans by means of state-of-the-art technology, i.e. through technological human enhancement[2]. It continues the humanist ideal of self-education with other, namely technical means. Ultimately, it is about the technological transformation of man into a posthuman being, as it were the development of a humanity 2.0 consisting of transhumans[3]. Transhumanism is therefore often regarded as a special form of posthumanism[4]. In principle, however, transhumanism and posthumanism differ in that the former wants to improve humans indefinitely, while the latter wants to overcome them altogether.

Basic ideas

The basic idea of transhumanism was formulated by the British biologist, philosopher and eugenicist Julian Huxley (1887-1975) in the eponymous chapter of his 1957 book New Bottles for New Wine:

„The human species can, if it wishes, transcend itself — not just sporadically, an individual here in one way, an individual there in another way, but in its entirety, as humanity. We need a name for this new belief. Perhaps transhumanism will serve: man remaining man, but transcending himself, by realizing new possibilities of and for his human nature.“

– Huxley 1957, p. 17 archive.org

In the manifesto of the "2045" Strategic Social Initiative, written by Russian transhumanists, the goals of transhumanism are outlined as follows:

„We believe that before 2045 an artificial body will be created that will not only surpass the existing body in terms of functionality, but will achieve perfection of form and be no less attractive than the human body. People will make independent decisions about the extension of their lives and the possibilities for personal development in a new body after the resources of the biological body have been exhausted.“

– Manifesto 2045[5]

Of particular interest to transhumanists are scientific, technical and medical fields such as biotechnology, especially genetic engineering, nanotechnology (nanomachines, nanobots), computer and information technology, artificial intelligence up to and including a future superintelligence, brain-computer interfaces, robotics, prosthetics, cyborgs, regenerative medicine, cryonics, etc.

Historical background

The origins of the unconditional optimism for progress that unites all transhumanists are seen above all in Renaissance humanism and in the epoch of the Enlightenment and the associated ethical obligation that man or humanity should consciously take its further development into its own hands. Unlike in classical humanism, however, this goal is not to be achieved by means of education and upbringing or even by means of spiritual training, but by exploiting the technical possibilities that are already available or will be available very soon[6][7]. The Darwinian theory of evolution and the utilitarianism of John Stuart Mill[8] form the further idealistic background. The extent to which Friedrich Nietzsche's "superman" also plays a role, as emphasised in particular by Stefan Lorenz Sorgner, is a matter of debate.

In the early 1980s, California with its specific intellectual and technological potential, and in particular the University of California and Silicon Valley, became the centres of transhumanism.

Extropianism

Together with Tom Bell (pseudonym: T. O. Morrow), the futurologist Max More founded extropianism, which he himself considers to be the first philosophically thought-out direction of transhumanism, and the Extropy Institute[9], which was established according to its principles. Extropianism is based on the principles of extropy. This is a measure of the intelligence, information content, available energy, longevity, vitality, diversity, complexity and growth capacity of a system. The term is not precisely defined, but has a more metaphorical meaning, deliberately chosen as a contrast to entropy, which leads humans to death and ultimately the world to decay[10]. It stands for an unlimited capacity for human development based on technology.

Max More characterises transhumanism as follows:

„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 rather than in some supernatural "afterlife". 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 such as neuroscience and neuropharmacology, life extension, nanotechnology, artificial ultraintelligence, and space habitation, combined with a rational philosophy and value system.“

– Max More: Transhumanism - Toward a Futurist Philosophy (2005)[11]

Risks, Opportunities and Necessities from the Perspective of Spiritual Science

An essential goal of transhumanism is the practically unlimited prolongation of life up to the de facto immortality of the physical or at least the mental earthly personality. Until this goal is realisable, the body is to be preserved from decay in the face of death by means of cryonics, first propagated by Robert Ettinger, and later revived and healed. This would be a renewal of ancient Egyptian mummification taken to the extreme. The consequences of this mummification, the fall into materialism, were clearly described by Rudolf Steiner (Lit.:GA 105, p. 31f). This effect would only occur more strongly today.

However, apart from the technical feasibility, this raises a number of other serious problems. If this were not to remain the privilege of only a small elite, sooner or later new births would have to be prevented in order to avoid overpopulation of the earth. Humanity would thus be deprived of all refreshing childhood powers. Moreover, man would be cut off from the life between death and new birth and banished to the earthly sphere. Reincarnation would be prevented and the spiritual development of humanity would come to a standstill. Man would then have to completely fall prey to the ahrimanic powers.

All in all, transhumanism looks like an ahrimanically distorted counter-image to classical humanism and especially to anthroposophy. Nevertheless, Rudolf Steiner has pointed out that a "forging together of the human being with the machine being" will not only come, but must come in the sense of earth evolution. Just as man had to unite with Lucifer in the beginnings of culture, he will also have to unite with Ahriman in the future in order to be able to use and at the same time overcome his powers. The decisive factor, however, will be the ethical attitude from which this happens. This development will only be fruitful if the human being - apart from any confessional bond - connects directly through his I with the Christ.

Literature
References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated.
Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com.
Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books
A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works
Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English.
Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold
steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA)
Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.

References

  1. ↑ The term "transhuman" entered the English language in the early 19th century through the English translation of Dante's "Divine Comedy" (cf. Krüger 2004, p. 109f.; Loh 2019, p. 32).
  2. ↑ Buchanan, Allen. Ethical Issues of Human Enhancement. Retrieved 18 January 2020
  3. ↑ Raymond Kurzweil, 2014
  4. ↑ Bert Gordijn, Ruth Chadwick: Medical Enhancement and Posthumanity.
  5. ↑ International Manifesto of the "2045" Strategic Social Initiative. Retrieved 29 August 2021
  6. ↑ Nick Bostrom: A history of transhumanist thought. In: Journal of Evolution and Technology. 14, Nr. 1, Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, 2005, ISSN 1541-0099. Retrieved 29 August 2021 pdf
  7. ↑ Daryl J. Wennemann: The Concept of the Posthuman: Chain of Being or Conceptual Saltus?, in: Journal of Evolution & Technology, Vol. 26 Issue 2, 2016, p. 16–30. Retrieved 29 August 2021 online
  8. ↑ cf. Loh 2019, p. 31
  9. ↑ Max More: The Philosophy of Transhumanism, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2013 pdf
  10. ↑ Max More: Principles of Extropy, 2013 online
  11. ↑ Max More: Transhumanism - Toward a Futurist Philosophy (2005) web.archive.org. Retrieved 29 August 2021
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