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Transhumanism: Humans
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"Transhumanism is more than just an abstract belief that we are about to transcend our biological limitations by means of technology; it is ... an attempt to reevaluate the entire human predicament as traditionally conceived," says Transhumanist philosopher Nick Bostrom. "And it is a bid to take a farsighted and constructive approach to our new situation."
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Transhumanism is a basically (but not naively) optimistic and rationalistic interdisciplinary approach to understanding and evaluating the possibilities for overcoming biological limitations through technological progress. It is based on the assumption that the "human condition" is not a constant, as has often been held, but can be augmented and enhanced, almost without limit. Transhumanists seek to expand technological opportunities in order to enhance human intellectual, physical, and emotional capacities to superhuman levels.
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Transhumanism has a slightly different beginning. Julian Huxley�s book written in 1956, New Bottles For New Wine, contains the essay "TRANSHUMANISM" which sets out to explain how humans must establish a better environment for themselves. He ... alludes to a new species that the human might eventually become.
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Transhumanism has changed considerably since the word was first coined by British scientist Julian Huxley in 1957. Huxley, an ardent humanitarian, described the concept as a methodology by which eugenics and social conditioning could improve the human race. His heirs today are considerably more ambitious.
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The claims of Transhumanism emerge from the confluence of new developments in the life sciences, bioengineering, and the neurosciences. The transhuman vision, which places much confidence in the ability of humans to change nature including their own, conflicts with the claims of evolutionary psychology that there is a universal human nature based on a species-typical collection of complex psychological adaptations that are universal among and unique to human beings. We hypothesize that the debate between the two camps rests on a lack clarity concerning the meaning of the phrase “human nature” and that to clarify the confusion we need to integrate the study of neuroscience, cognitive science, evolutionary psychology, and philosophy. We will explore, on the one hand, whether the arguments of the transhumanists undermine the evidence about human nature marshaled by evolutionary psychologists (e.g., Steven Pinker, David Buss, and Leda Cosmides), and, on the other hand, whether the claims of evolutionary psychologists hold up against the new findings about the non-linear nature of brain processes as discovered by neuroscientists (e.g., Steven Rose).
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Transhumanism, like religion, recognizes mortality as a central concern. Perhaps this accounts for the enthusiasm expressed for transhumanism. This energy is far more akin to expressions of religious fervor than anything that could be evoked by humanism, which even its most ardent supporter would never describe as exciting.
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