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( Transhumanism)
Transhumanism (sometimes symbolized by >H or H+),[1] a term often used as a synonym for "human enhancement", is an international, intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of science and technology to enhance human mental and physical abilities and aptitudes, and overcome what it regards as undesirable and unnecessary aspects of the human condition, such as disability, suffering, disease, aging and involuntary death. Transhumanist thinkers study the possibilities and consequences of developing and using human enhancement techniques and other emerging technologies for these purposes. Possible dangers, as well as benefits, of powerful new technologies that might radically change the conditions of human life are also of concern to the transhumanist movement.[2] Although the first known use of the term "transhumanism" dates from 1957, the contemporary meaning is a product of the 1980s when futurists in the United States began to organize what has since grown into the transhumanist movement. Transhumanist thinkers predict that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label "posthuman".[2] Transhumanism is therefore sometimes referred to as "posthumanism" or a form of transformational activism influenced by posthumanist ideals.[3] Transhumanist foresight of a transformed future humanity has attracted many supporters and detractors from a wide range of perspectives. Transhumanism has been described by one outspoken opponent as the world's most dangerous idea,[4] while a proponent counters that it is the "movement that epitomizes the most daring, courageous, imaginative, and idealistic aspirations of humanity".[5] According to philosophers who have studied and written about the history of transhumanist thought,[2] transcendentalist impulses have manifested themselves at least as far back as the quest for immortality in the Epic of Gilgamesh, as well as historical quests for the Fountain of Youth, Elixir of Life, and other efforts to stave off aging and death. Transhumanist philosophy, however, is rooted in Renaissance rational humanism and the Enlightenment. For example, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola called on people to "sculpt their own statue", and the Marquis de Condorcet speculated about the use of medical science to indefinitely extend the human life span, while Benjamin Franklin dreamed of suspended animation, and after Darwin "it became increasingly plausible to view the current version of humanity not as the endpoint of evolution but rather as a possibly quite early phase."[2] However, Friedrich Nietzsche is considered by some to be less of an influence, despite his exaltation of the "overman", due to his emphasis on self-actualization rather than technological transformation.[2]
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