Transhumanism

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Logo for transhumanism (often abbreviated as H + or h + )

Transhumanism (composed of the Latin trans 'beyond, beyond, beyond' and humanus 'human') is a philosophical school of thought that seeks to expand the limits of human possibilities, be it intellectual , physical or psychological, through the use of technological processes. The interests and values ​​of humanity are seen as a "commitment to progress".

The representatives of transhumanism can be found mainly in the Anglo-Saxon region. It is a loose and heterogeneous connection between representatives of different sociocultural backgrounds and different disciplines.

self reflection

Transhumanists see the roots of their philosophy in Renaissance humanism and the Age of Enlightenment . There is intense discussion by transhumanists whether and to what extent Friedrich Nietzsche can and should be viewed as the ancestor of transhumanism.

The biologist and eugenicist Julian Huxley postulated the term transhumanism in the chapter of the same name in 1957 in his book New Bottles for New Wine . He describes a posthumanist there as:

"Man, man remains, but overcomes himself by realizing new possibilities of and for his human nature."

The term then came to Abraham Maslow's Toward a Psychology of Being ( Psychology of Being , 1968) and Robert Ettinger Man into Superman (1972) before. Like Maslow and Ettinger, the Iranian-American futurist FM-2030 (born FM Esfandiary, name change in the mid-1970s) used the term in his writings from the 1970s in relation to people who adopt new technologies, ways of life and worldviews, which show a transition to the posthuman . In his book Are You Transhuman? of 1989 the transhumanist philosopher FM-2030 writes:

“Transhumans are the first manifestation of a new kind of evolutionary being. In this they resemble the first hominids that left the trees millions of years ago and began to look around. Transhumans do not necessarily aim to accelerate the evolution of higher life forms. Many of them are not even aware of their role as a transitional form of evolution. "

A modern definition of transhumanism goes back to Max More:

“Transhumanism is a category of beliefs that lead us towards a posthuman state. Transhumanism shares many aspects with humanism , including a respect for reason and science , a commitment to progress, and the recognition of the value of human (or transhuman) existence in this life. [...] Transhumanism differs from humanism in recognizing and anticipating the radical changes in nature and possibilities of our life through various scientific and technological disciplines [...]. "

The early transhumanists formally met in the early 1980s at the University of California, Los Angeles , which became the single point of contact for transhumanists. FM-2030 also gave a conference there on the futuristic ideology of the Upwingers . John Spencer of the Space Tourism Society organized many transhumanist events on space. Natasha Vita-More (formerly Nancie Clark) exhibited “Breaking Away” at EZTV-Media, a meeting place for transhumanists and other futurists. FM-2030, Spencer and Vita-More met and organized meetings for transhumanists in Los Angeles.

In Australia, science fiction writer Damien Broderick wrote the Judas Mandala . In 1982 Vita-More wrote the Transhumanist Artist Manifesto and later produced the successful TransCentury Update TV show on the subject of transhumanity.

In 1986 Eric Drexler's well-known book on the nanotechnology Engines of Creation was published.

Technology and morals

Oscar Pistorius with prosthetic feet made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic

The main focus of the transhumanism movement is the application of new and future technologies. These include:

The technologies should enable everyone to improve their quality of life as desired, to be able to determine their appearance as well as their physical and mental possibilities themselves. Nobody should be forced to make any change.

Transhumanist currents

Undercurrents can be identified in transhumanism, but in reality they are rarely clearly separated from each other:

  • Democratic Transhumanism: A political philosophy that brings together liberal democracy , social democracy , and transhumanism
  • Extropianism: A trend in transhumanism that seeks to proactively accelerate the further evolution of man. Extropianism was founded in the 1980s by Max More and TOMorrow in California, with extropy functioning as the counterpart to entropy and a "measure of a system's intelligence, information content, available energy, longevity, vitality, diversity, complexity, and capacity for growth “(More 1993: 1) represents.
  • Singularitarianism: A movement based on the belief that a technological singularity - the creation of a superintelligence - is possible and advocates considered action to bring it about in a safe manner. This phase is seen as the transcendence of the human species.

Eugenics

The eugenics plays a central role in the transhumanism. However, it is hoped not to prevent birth through sterilization, but to ensure the birth of a healthy child through genetic manipulation. In the future, human evolution is to be controlled based on goals chosen by humans. This breeding of people should not be in the hands of the state (as for example aimed at by the National Socialist eugenics ), but should be placed in the hands of the individual parents.

In Germany, similar discussions tie in with Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of the superman and are therefore not primarily technically oriented, but always permeated with thoughts of further cultural development.

criticism

The question of the extent to which transhumanist future prognoses about technological development are realistic and what ethical and anthropological consequences might result from this is controversial. Transhumanism has been called "one of the most dangerous ideas" by Francis Fukuyama - an outspoken opponent - while a proponent (Ronald Bailey) countered that "this movement is the boldest, most courageous, visionary and idealistic endeavor of humanity". Some authors argue that mankind is already transhuman because medical advances over the past centuries have significantly changed the species.

Critique of the basic assumptions

The geneticist and science writer Steve Jones argues that humanity does not have the technology and never will be looking proponents of transhumanism. Jones claims that technologies like genetic engineering will never be as powerful as is generally believed.

In his book Futurehype: The Tyranny of Prophecy, the sociologist Max Dublin lists many failed predictions of past technological advances and posits that modern futuristic predictions will be similarly imprecise. He also speaks out against what he sees as fanaticism and nihilism in advocating transhumanist ends, and claims that there are historical similarities to religious and Marxist ideologies.

Ethical criticism

Transhumanism is accused of relying on technological developments without taking sufficient account of the ethical aspects involved.

Political scientist Francis Fukuyama believes that transhumanism can critically undermine the progressive ideals of liberal democracy . This is done through a fundamental change in human nature and human equality.

Reflections of transhuman elements

Science fiction has represented transhumanism in various forms for many years.

literature

The well-known Neuromancer trilogy by William Gibson contains many elements of transhumanism. Most people are equipped with microchips which, among other things, make them more intelligent and which they can replace at any time. Artificial intelligences operate freely in cyberspace and the characters switch between the real and the virtual world. Most of Gibson's other novels (such as the Cyberspace short story collection ) also deal with transhumanism.

One can find an intensive discussion of the topic with Greg Egan . In Distress he deals, among other things, with the concept of morphological freedom, the (artificial) adaptation of the body to its own self-image. In Permutation City and Diaspora he deals with uploading, with the development of complex social systems based on simulated individuals.

The "Ousters" in the Hyperion cycle of Dan Simmons is an example of a transhuman humanity, to the post-humans. Instead of "clinging to rocks" like the rest of humanity (whom they hated and feared as barbarians), they moved towards space, adapted to the environment using nanotechnology, and entered into a symbiotic relationship with their technology. Simmon's later book, Ilium, depicts another situation in the distant future where posthumans have seemingly been absorbed by their own technology while a small population of less-changed people continue to live on earth, completely dependent on technology they no longer understand (see technological singularity ).

The novel The Abolition of Species by Dietmar Dath , who was on the shortlist of the German Book Prize in 2008 , takes place in a world in which the transhumanist project was realized in which part of humanity was transformed into the "Gente" through controlled evolution. They are a kind of comprehensive sex based on the animals known today, which relies on a network of scents to transmit information.

Outside of science fiction, transhumanism was thematized, for example, by Michel Houellebecq in his novels Elementary Particles and The Possibility of an Island . In response to the disillusions of modernity, humanity decides to disappear from the world stage in favor of a sexless, immortal species.

In the 2012 novel Maschinenmann by Australian author Max Barry , a scientist loses a leg in an accident, which he replaces with a biomechanical prosthesis. When the scientist realizes that his new synthetic leg is much more efficient than a natural one, the man begins to exchange more of his body parts in order to perfect his organic body.

In 2013 novel, Inferno by Dan Brown creates a scientist who sees himself as a transhumanist, a virus that the world from the threat of overpopulation is to save and his view thus inevitable collapse of the Earth. Dan Brown also deals with the topic of transhumanism in the sequel to the Robert Langdon series Origin . A quantum computer calculates that humanity will finally have merged with technology in 2050.

Computer games

Ideas and concepts of transhumanism also often appear in computer games. The Deus-Ex series also and above all deals with the effects of superior technology such as artificial implants and artificial intelligence on the human mind and society.

Another example of a transhumanist organization in computer games is the Cerberus group in the RPG series Mass Effect . This tries to give mankind an advantage in the intergalactic competition with the other, extraterrestrial races through genetic manipulation and implantology. Although the player in the first part of the series reveals the partly immoral experiments and machinations of the group, at the beginning of the second part he is brought back to life by their technique. With Cerberus' support he tries to prevent the destruction of all organic life by the so-called reaper, ancient and highly developed machine beings. The player can present his attitude towards the Cerberus group in dialogues at several points and thereby both show himself to be loyal and differentiate himself.

The computer game BioShock revolves around a failed libertarian model of society, which is similar to transhumanism. The elite residents of the underwater city of Rapture used excessive genetic engineering to expand their bodily functions, which ultimately became their undoing. Author Ken Levine takes up Ayn Rand's objectivism and paints the portrait of a society in which this worldview was lived in its entirety, but ultimately failed.

In the Syndicate computer games it is possible to buy your agents beneficial prostheses, which in the later course of the game increasingly turn them into cyborgs .

The horror title Soma by the Swedish studio Frictional Games blurs the line between man and machine and aims to convey horror with the questions that arise from it.

The open-world role-playing game Fallout 4 by the US game developer Bethesda Game Studios enables gamers to deal in detail with the question of whether or from when artificial intelligences (here: synths) are "living beings" and as such earn corresponding rights. The most advanced of these synths are fully synthetic humans, but they can be programmed and voice-controlled using a "synth module". The "institute", which is responsible for the development and production of the synths, sees you as "humanity - newly defined", but is being fought by the underground organization "Railroad", which accuses the institute of enslaving and exploiting the synths. On the other hand, there is the “Brotherhood of Steel”, a militarily disciplined organization that considers the synths to be a danger - despite their own trust in highly developed technologies.

See also

literature

  • Oliver Krüger : Virtuality and Immortality. God, evolution and the singularity in post and transhumanism. , 2nd revised u. supplemented edition, Freiburg: Rombach 2019, ISBN 978-3-7930-9939-0 .
  • Tomke Braun and Felix Urban: Statement on the risky level . In: Felix Urban (Ed.): Current tendencies. Course lines of ART and MEDIA THEORY. 1st edition. Tectum, Baden-Baden 2019, ISBN 978-3-8288-3995-3 , pp. 142-147 .
  • Dierk Spreen , Bernd Flessner , Herbert M. Hurka, Johannes Rüster: Critique of Transhumanism. About an ideology of the optimization society . transcript, Bielefeld 2018, ISBN 978-3-8376-4287-2 .
  • Philipp von Becker: The new belief in immortality: transhumanism, biotechnology and digital capitalism. Passagen Verlag Vienna 2015, ISBN 3709201640 .
  • Ingrid Lohmann, Gerd Steffens. Frankfurt am Main 2014, ISSN  0941-1461 , ISBN 978-3-631-65764-5 (print), E- ISBN 978-3-653-05104-9 (e-book), doi: 10.3726 / 978-3- 653-05104-9
  • Boris Hänßler: Perhaps the most dangerous idea in the world. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. June 8, 2013 ( online ).
  • Jens Jessen: The best are beasts. In: The time. May 23, 2013 ( online ).
  • Education Yearbook : People Improvement - Transhumanism. Editor: Sven Kluge.
  • Ray Kurzweil : Humanity 2.0. The singularity is approaching. Lola Books 2013. ISBN 978-3-944203-04-1 (Original title: The Singularity Is Near ).
  • Christopher Coenen : The Human Enhancement Debate; historical, philosophical and ethical aspects of human technological improvement. 2010, ISBN 978-3-8376-1290-5 .
  • Christian Weisgerber: Cyborgs, Disasters and Visions. Europe's transhumanists look to the future. Telepolis, July 10, 2001 ( online ).
  • John Brockman : The New Humanists. Science at the limit. Ullstein Hc; (October 2004), ISBN 3-550-07597-9 .
  • Janina Loh: Trans- and Posthumanism (Introduction) . Hamburg: Junius, 2nd, revised edition, 2019. ISBN 3885068087 .

Web links

Commons : Transhumanism  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Transhumanism - Perspectives, Chances, Risks. In: humanistische-vereinigung.de. Retrieved January 24, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Nick Bostrom: In Defense of Posthuman Dignity . In: Bioethics . tape 19 , no. 3 , 2005, ISSN  0269-9702 , p. 202–214 , PMID 16167401 (English, full text on the author's website [accessed July 31, 2017]): “Transhumanism is a loosely defined movement…”
  3. ↑ Jan-Christoph Heilinger: Anthropology and Ethics of Enhancements . 2009, p. 112 .
  4. ↑ a b Nick Bostrom: A history of transhumanist thought . In: Journal of Evolution and Technology . tape 14 , no. 1 . Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, April 2005, ISSN  1541-0099 (English, jetpress.org [accessed May 14, 2018]).
  5. ^ Stefan Lorenz Sorgner : Nietzsche, the Overhuman, and Transhumanism . In: Journal of Evolution & Technology . March 2009, pp. 29–42.
  6. ^ Russel Blackford : Editorial: Nietzsche and European Posthumanisms . In: Journal of Evolution & Technology . 2010.
  7. ↑ Max More: Transhumanism - Towards a Futurist Philosophy . 1990. Archived from the original on February 16, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  8. ↑ Bernd Vowinkel : On the way to transhumanism? In: transhumanism.wordpress.com. Retrieved July 6, 2020 .
  9. ↑ James Hughes: Democratic Transhumanism 2.0. In: changesurfer.com. Retrieved July 1, 2020 .
  10. ↑ What is extropia? In: uni-muenster.de. Archived from the original on May 29, 2001 ; accessed on November 26, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Kurthen, Martin 2011: White and Black Posthumanism: After the Conscious and the Unconscious. Munich, Fink: 19.
  12. ^ Raymond Kurzweil: The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology . Viking Adult, 2005, ISBN 0-670-03384-7 .
  13. ↑ Do transhumanists advocate eugenics? Archived from the original on September 9, 2006. In: World Transhumanist Association . 2002-2005. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  14. ↑ Andrés Lomeña: Interview with Nick Bostrom and David Pearce. In: hedweb.com. December 2007, accessed August 9, 2019 .
  15. ↑ See for example Ernst Benz (Ed.): Übermensch. A discussion . Stuttgart / Zurich 1961.
  16. ^ Francis Fukuyama : Transhumanism - the world's most dangerous idea. In: Aarhus University website . Retrieved May 25, 2020 (originally published in Foreign Policy , September 2004; updated November 13, 2019 by Rasmus Stensgaard).
  17. ↑ Ronald Bailey: Transhumanism: The Most Dangerous Idea? In: reason.com. August 25, 2004, accessed July 21, 2018 .
  18. ^ Miquel Casas: El fin del Homo sapiens: La naturaleza y el transhumanismo . Ápeiron, Madrid 2017, ISBN 978-84-16996-35-3 .
  19. ^ Francis Fukuyama: Our Posthuman Future . 1st edition. Picador, New York 2003, ISBN 0-312-42171-0 .
  20. ↑ Anthony Ha: BioShock Infinite Creator Ken Levine Says He Doesn't Believe In Utopias (Including Peter Thiel's). Interview with Ken Levine. In: techcrunch.com . March 28, 2013, accessed June 4, 2020.
  21. ↑ David Chandler: SOMA finds the horror inherent in glitch art. Review. In: killscreen.com . September 24, 2015, accessed April 15, 2020.