transhumanism h+

Transhumanismh+

Victor NavarroRegan New

What is transhumanism?

Breaking limitations Morphological freedom Next step in human evolution

“Posthuman” Precursors

Prosthetics Modern medicine▪ Artificial organs▪ Pacemaker

Hugh Herr at TEDMED 2010

Pros

Robotic/Synthetic limbs and organs Stronger social integration Reduction/Elimination of aging and

disease Neural and visual implants

Augmented reality/HUD

Negative Impact of Transhumanism

Expense The disabled pay hundreds, even

thousands to overcome their disability

Today's prosthetic limbs cost between $5,000 to $8,000 while today's transhuman prosthetic limbs can cost over $20,000

Parts wear and tear

Superiority Transhumans may view normal humans as

inferior Repetition of Nazi Germany and the Master Race In the wrong hands, the technology may lead to

global catastrophe

Overpopulation The elimination of disease leads to less deaths,

but more people China already experiences overpopulation

What separates humanity from other species? Replacing limbs and organs with

machinery and robotics, and utilizing nanotechnology to eliminate disease

When does a human stop being a human?

Likelihood?A brief timeline

Ethical Analysis

Utilitarianism: Would a technologically-based ascension of the human species as a whole bring about more happiness than despair?

Virtue Ethics: Would the pursuit of what transhumanism promises be considered virtuous? Benevolence Generosity

Questions?

Sources

http://www.nickbostrom.com/papers/history.pdf

http://www.nickbostrom.com/ethics/transhumanist.pdf

Hugh Herr at TEDMED 2010