Transhumanism (H+).... and beyond....




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. Transhumanism 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".




- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism 


What exactly is transhumanism? To give an example, the recent use of prosthetic limbs to substitute for lost legs and other body parts may be a part of transhumanism. In addition there is a coming revolution in the field of aging and longevity where debates concerning "indefinite life extension" are constantly being struck. Whether this would be ethical or not would be a secondary thing to think about. But would it be possible in the near future is a thing to worry about (or not) considering its implications.



The biocomplexity spiral is a depiction of the multileveled complexity of organisms in their environments, which is seen by many critics as the ultimate obstacle to transhumanist ambition.


The sole purpose of reproduction, replication of DNA and evolution (as a result of the aforementioned processes accompanied by accumulation of variations of mutations), could be summarized as a means to conserve the genetic material and to select for the fit and adaptable individual (relative to the current or local environment). While transhumanism would serve to increase extend or improve the lifespan wold it be able to aid in the evolution of fit and adaptable species. As evolution might be a never ending process would it be advisable to overburden the ecosystem with a less fit or less evolved species to share and consume the resources with the newly produced individuals and would they be able to co-exist. While the answers to these question may not be in sight yet but it would be intriguing to observe this while it happens and who might know if this might actually work out.

Of late, transhumanists have grown in numbers and transhumanism has come about to be more of a belief rather than a process or movement. It is interesting to know that science and technology are beginning to be merged to attain a state of fusion where fields like robotics, mechanics, physics, chemistry and biology are beginning to merge and new "biologically inspired" instruments have been synthesized to aid in the betterment of life quality. Will this prove to be an interference in the natures selection and 'speciation' process or will it assist in enhancing the survival capability of a species which might lead to the emergence of a new and superior species is a tale that only time would tell. 

As far as my views stand it is an exciting era of science to envision and I feel that it is the right of an individual to have access to a better quality of life. Whether life extension is a good idea or will it lead to intolerable memories could only be told by people who choose it. 

Transhumanism has great promises to offer. Several examples have come up including the development of artificially 3D printed trachea ro aid breathing of development of an artificial hand or leg using robotic prosthetic to the making of synthetic natural substitutes for eatables such as meat. Each thing perturbed might have its own "butterfly effect" in the course of evolution. We might not be there to visit the future, but with transhumanism and the promises it has to offer, we might......



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