I have witnessed this directly in obstacle course races and in long running races that I participate in. Vitamins, superfoods, protein powders, and steroids are doing the same at a more physical level, enhancing performance (sometimes illicitly, as in the sad case of cyclist Lance Armstrong and so many other elite athletes), the immune system, improving memory, boosting sexual energy, etc.Īnd what about prosthetic implants? They have transformed the lives of millions with disabilities, opening their lives to amazing possibilities. Transhumanism is no longer in the realm of the fictional. The movie Limitless, with its fictional drug NZT-48, takes this to the extreme. Created to help people with ADHD, it’s also a powerful stimulant that’s why it’s such a prize among college students, as it enhances cognitive faculties that supposedly help during exams. Ritalin, meanwhile, does change things in a more transformative way. That’s not quite the same as going beyond our current human state, but it is a change, in this case one that can help millions of people. We are who we were before plus the medication. If we take a drug that changes our chemistry, for example, for depression or high blood pressure, we are not the same. Our integration with technology is evolving us into something else.Ĭonsider, for starters, medication. If you have a purist definition of what it means to be human, just the old flesh and blood without any intervention from outside gadgets, it’s time to come to terms with reality: apart from isolated communities, few of us in modern society are purely human. Transhumanism, according to the American English dictionary, is defined as “the belief or theory that the human race can evolve beyond its current physical and mental limitations, especially by means of science and technology.” It sounds very much like something from a sci-fi movie-people flying with purple wings, or with translucent skin, or able to lift cars with one hand, or having prodigious memories. How do we define a human? Is it our body? Our genome? Our behaviors? Our self-awareness, our compassion? Our minds? Perhaps all of these and then something else? What now may be obvious to most people will become less so as we become progressively more integrated with technology both inside and outside our bodies.
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