Transhumanism is the idea that humanity should use the possibilities for self-modification potentially offered by technologies like cybernetics, genetic engineering, and nanotechnology to improve the human body and consciousness beyond our current form and limitations. Early advances towards Transhumanism is a common philosophy in the body modification or "bod mod" community.
The Transhumanist FAQ, prepared by the World Transhumanist Association, gives two formal 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.
- 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.
One popular book written on the subject of Transhumanism is The Singularity Is Near[2] by Raymond Kurzweil.
References[]
- ↑ World Transhumanist Association declaration available from http://www.transhumanism.org/resources/FAQv21.pdf
- ↑ http://singularity.com/