This clause first appeared in Issue 5 of our free digital magazineCURIOUS .
Transhumanism offer humans one of the loftiest goals ever offer : through science and engineering , we hold the force to turbo - charge our sensory faculty , edit out our biological frailties , meld nous with computers , and hone our heavy body to the full point where we become something that is beyond human being – perhaps something almost God - like . Nietzsche would have a field Clarence Shepard Day Jr. .
In decades gone by it was the poppycock of science fiction , but we are fast draw close a percentage point where many of these futurist dreaming could become realism : CRISPRhas madegene redaction easierthan ever ; the disruption between the human brain and calculator is close ; robotics has never been better ; our discernment of biologic senescence continue to grow .
The real question , however , is whether we should embark on such a dare programme ?
Transhumanism presents an affirmative vision of the future where man can meliorate themselves through the radical annexe of the human lifespan , the obliteration of disease , and the liquidation of hurting .
Do you need to run like Usain Bolt ? That ’s nothing gene redaction and robotics could n’t manage . Do you care to possess one of the capital minds in history ? Perhaps a computer - brain interface would reach that .
It ’s a nebulous term that often relies on the hypothetical , drawing on all kinds of scientific fields , from artificial intelligence ( AI ) and robotics to biotechnology and space exploration . However , one subject area that transhumanism often touch on on – and was even arguably born out of – is genetic science .
The murky beginnings of becoming beyond human
The terminus transhumanism ( “ trans ” stanch from the Romance word for “ across ” , “ over ” , or “ beyond ” ) was first coin by evolutionary life scientist Julian Huxley , the grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley , a giant star of tight-laced science who became cognise as " Darwin ’s Bulldog " for his fervent advocacy of the theory of evolution by natural selection .
Julian ’s brother and nigh intimate was Aldous Huxley , source ofBrave New World , a novel that vividly illustrate a succeeding world in which the totems of science , technology , and efficiency have mould a bleak dystopia .
Julian first write the term in the 1950s , but themes that would now be considered transhumanist had emerged in his thoughts well before World War II . He held the belief that humans held seemingly unbounded electric potential , but were thwarted by intrinsic weaknesses that had become interwoven into our nature . Just like any other beast on this planet , we can be unknowing , washy , and get old .
He believed that it was the duty of scientific advancement to break from these chains and reset the “ fullest actualisation of man ’s possibilities ” . In his brain , the scientific developments of modernness had made humans the “ managing director of the biggest business of all , the business of organic evolution ” – and it was an chance that held vast possibility .
“ We have passably well finish the geographic exploration of the earth ; we have labor the scientific geographic expedition of nature , both lifeless and living , to a compass point at which its chief outlines have become clear ; but the exploration of human nature and its possibilities has scarcely start out . A vast New World of uncharted possibility awaits its Columbus , ” he wrote in 1957 .
Huxley thought the initial stage of this could be achieved through education and societal enrichment . However , like many “ swell psyche ” of the nineteenth and twentieth one C , he became more and more interested in eugenics ; the idea that the genetic quality of the human population could be improved by off undesirable discrepancy from the gene pocket billiards .
From 1959 to 1962 , he stood as United States President of the British Eugenics Society . When comparing how farmers bred their beast to promote certain characteristics like meaty thighs , Huxley would expect why the same ca n’t be attain in human stock . Although he strongly argued against the extinction of those considered unfit , he believed that one way to achieve a strong universe was by encourage masses of the “ professional middle classes ” to have children .
In his mind , it would be potential to raise the caliber of the human population to high levels through social applied science . Just like cover chicken for bounteous breasts , club could create a inventory of people to the point they become beyond human .
Beyond the scientific and aesculapian issues , it opened a Pandora ’s box of honorable and moral questions .
Huxley ’s resource was somewhat restrain by the scientific understanding of his clock time . When Huxley was writing about transhumanism in the fifties , the three - dimensional structure of DNA had only just been identified and it would be two more decades until scientists get going seriously flirt with the idea of genetic engineering .
With today ’s technology , however , it could be potential to go even further down the path Huxley start to carve out .
Is the dream of transhumanism already a reality?
Through human germline technology , it ’s possible to fine-tune the desoxyribonucleic acid of a people in such a way that the alteration is a fundamental part of their genome and even passed onto their children .
The legality of human germline engine room differs around the world . While it ’s outright banned in the European Union , it ’s only prohibited with the use of federal funding in the United States . This is even before you take the minefield of ethical and moral dilemma that skirt this feat .
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Nevertheless , there are claims that this has already become a reality . In November 2018 , Taiwanese biophysicist He Jiankui claimed that he had created thefirst human genetically edited babies , Lulu and Nana .
Using CRISPR , he edited the genomes of the Gemini the Twins when they were embryos , invest them with genetic protection against HIV by targeting a gene , CCR5 , which taunt for a protein that the virus employ to hijack cells . The babies efficaciously had superhuman shelter against a disease that killed tens of 1000000 of mass .
The incident sparked outrage and shock across the world . He was paint as a mad scientist gone rogue in the medium and countless streams of scientists claim this behavior was heedless , deeply unethical , and even criminal .
Even in a domain where genetic redaction is fecund , could it make the creation less accepting of people who are different ?
Much of this was plant on the unrequited scientific questions that border the affair . This is unchartered district and there ’s really no assure how the germline engineering of embryos could impact their wider health and well - being , let alone generation down the assembly line . Beyond the scientific and aesculapian issuance , it opened a Pandora ’s box of honorable and moral questions .
Brave new world
While few would contend genetic protection against HIV is a bad thing , how do we draw up these distinction been “ good ” and “ regretful ” when it comes to the uses of this technology ? Which human traits are “ normal ” and which can be considered a disablement or disorder ? Even if the world does agree on these distinctions , what ’s to block us from meddling with other traits such as intelligence , good looks , or athletic ability ?
Then come the emergence of how this engineering is distributed . At least in the short run , it ’s probable only the inner , productive , and those born on the good patches of Earth will be able to love the fruit of this evolution . Even in a humankind where genetical editing is prolific , could it make the world less accepting of hoi polloi who are different ?
All of these questions are fundamentally why eugenics is so frown upon today . By the latter half of the twentieth century , eugenics became widely consider as base and unethical , countenance alone scientifically erroneous . So much so , anyone who flirts with transhumanist ideas would no doubt vehemently argue that the apparent movement is wildly different from eugenics . After all , transhumanism does n’t just take genetic science , but also AI , computer science , robotics , neuroscience , biomedicine , and all kinds of time to come - press scientific fields .
It ’s certainly possible for the future to utilize any scientific advancement to maximize public health and happiness while minimize inequalities and hurt . If this goes far enough , perhaps we could eventually weigh our species to be distinct from theHomo sapiensthat make cave painting and hunted mammoth .
However , these technologies do n’t exist in a vacuum and , whenever they are used , they will remain closely intertwined with the societal norm of the day . If this is a journeying we are willing to take , we need to tip - toe carefully .
CURIOUS magazineis a digital cartridge holder from IFLScience featuring consultation , expert , deep dives , fun facts , news , record book excerpts , and much more . Issue 8 is out now .
