Taking Evolution Into Our Own Hands

by Paolo Delaunay 

for @hackingumans

Technology is synonymous with opportunity. Science has always provided us the means to accomplish things we could not have done otherwise. In our times, this goes as far as modifying our own bodies and those of our offspring. With the help of Human Enhancement Technologies (HET), we now have the choice to dig into the DNA of our children and mold them as we please, or to extend our own lives by replacing organs or to become cyborg Übermenschen. But as always, there is a catch. In this case—putting aside the scientific risks associated with these processes—it’s a simple question: is it morally acceptable to enhance ourselves and the future generations?

The movement of transhumanism, a global intellectual ideology started in the 20^th century that “defends the right to transform the human condition” through technological alteration to our bodies and psyches. It argues that the positive implications of the transformation go beyond the ethical barriers imposed by some factions within our global society and that the alterations could allow us to develop into superior “posthuman beings”. The intelligentsia affiliated to this school of thought argues under the banner of progressivism and sees the transhuman ideal as a way of accelerating progress and leading to revolutionary changes in our way of life.

Influenced and idealized by the realities proposed in science-fiction settings, transhumanism has gained following from a wide variety of individuals from all the walks of life. It is notoriously supported by politically liberal people in developed countries and it has since its inception been arduously defended by multiple scientists, intellectuals, and public figures (see Ray Kurzweil, FM-2030, J.D. Bernal, Julian Huxley, Isaac Asimov, amongst others). In their opinion, the exponentially accelerating growth of technology, and the “(…) synergy between nano-, bio-, info-, and cogno-technologies” is as proof of how close we are to a great breakthrough.

Nonetheless, Transhumanism has its critics. ‘Bioconservatives’ or ‘counter-transhumanists’ see the ideas behind it as an encouragement to further widen the current socioeconomic inequalities. In their opinion, enhancing some humans would give them an unfair advantage over the rest, and the fact that it would probably be the richer classes that would afford these enhancements gives place to a new political debate about it. Aside from these social and economic effects, there are debates coming from purely religious arguments, as well as opposed arguments claiming identity loss, eugenics wars, and existential crises. Additionally, there are those who claim that the whole ideology is based on impossible assumptions and that our technology will never allow us to speed our evolution into a new, post-human race.