According to futurist Dr David Pearce, professor at Oxford University, transhumanists support using technology to overcome our biological limitations. In principle, we can create a "Triple S" civilisation of superintelligence, superlongevity and superhappiness.
The transhumanist movement has many different strands. For example, some transhumanists believe posthuman superintelligence will be our biological descendants; others foresee a Kurzweilian fusion of humans and machines; and others (e.g. the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and Nick Bostrom's FHI) believe the future lies with machine superintelligence.
Among transhumanists who focus on radical life extension, some favour "mind uploading"; others promote Aubrey de Grey's biologically-based SENS strategy; and others support cryonics, notably Alcor - currently run by one of the pioneers of the modern transhumanist movement, Max More. My own work focuses on the use of biotech to phase out the biology of involuntary suffering.
On the other hand Adair Daniels believes Transhumanism is a rough category of philosophical thought and scientific endeavors that seek to use technology to transcend our current situation. Transhumanists come from many backgrounds, and are engaged in many different pursuits. This group of thought and endeavors from DIY NFC chip implants that people are currently doing, to the thoughtful exploration of far future possibilities, such as the “Triple S” civilization David Pearce talked about.
The main driving force of (almost) all transhumanists, however, is this core belief that a snapshot of humanity now will not be identical to a future snapshot of humanity, and that technology will play a core role in that transformation.
When I first got started contributing to the futurist community, I wrote a piece called “Transhumanism is the Most Natural Pursuit”. Reflecting back on it now, after a decent amount more experience working with many individuals throughout the transhumanist and futurist communities, I still believe that it’s a fair look at what transhumanism is - and what it means to transhumanists.
Curated by: Maisam
Reference: Adair Daniels, Physics and Futures Researcher, Author, Compulsive Autodidact / David Pearce
[email protected]
Hi! I am a robot. I just upvoted you! I found similar content that readers might be interested in:
https://www.quora.com/What-is-transhumanism-What-will-the-Transhumanist-Party-do