Technology is evolving every day in all the fields of life, including medicine and the betterment of humans. Are you wondering how we can possibly make the human condition stable than it already is? Considering the advancement of health technology, it appears as if we’ve reached the pinnacle of medical science – but I guess not. The revolutionary, philosophical movement of transhumanism is here to prove us wrong.
The word ‘transhumanism’, was coined in 1957 by the biologist, Julian Huxley. In simple words, transhumanism is a belief that we should evolve humans beyond what is accepted and expected with the help of science and technology. It’s strongly believed that with the help of these technologies, we’ll be able to extend human life span by enhancing their physical, intellectual and psychological condition eradicating hunger, poverty, illness, disease and perhaps even death.
You can read more about transhumanism and its objectives at humanparagon.com. In this article, we’ll talk about the pros and cons of transhumanism.
Benefits of Transhumanism
1. Enhanced Eyesight and Hearing
Being born with poor eyesight hampers your normal functioning if you don’t utilize external devices which help you see. Now, imagine being born with no eyesight at all. Laser eye surgeries and contact lens, however, improve your bad vision, but what transhumanism strives to achieve is replacing your whole eye with a bionic or robotic eye which eliminates all vision problems completely.
Similarly, hearing aids and devices improve hearing in old people and people born with partial or complete deafness, but transhumanism can get you a new pair of ears and you won’t have to worry about replacing batteries or losing your aids.
2. Reducing Disabilities
Another major contribution of transhumanism is the development of artificial limbs. Artificial limbs have proven beneficial to people who’ve had bodily amputations due to accidents or other medical reasons. Artificial limbs not only allow normal walking and running it also enables people to pursue careers in athletics. Amazing, right?
3. Faster Thought Process
Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) are being developed by many organizations and these devices will change the ways we communicate with each other, and with our digital devices. Our speech can be limited because of the speed at which words come out of our mouth, but with the help of BMIs it will be possible to communicate at the speed of our thoughts, also it enables us to share our sensory and emotional experience with others. You might have read about similar stuff in the books of sci-fi authors like Issac Asimov but imagine it turning into reality. How cool is that?
Drawbacks of Transhumanism
1. Dehumanising
Transforming the human species into a near-robotic being takes away the essence of what truly makes a human. The idea of tampering with our bodies to obtain potential immortality seems unethical and unnatural, as nature will always be greater than all the science and technologies combined. The rise of transhumans and transhumanism, there could be a decline in the human aspects of a being.
2. Increased Population
Transhumanism movement aims towards extending the human life span, this would cause an overly populated world. Our Earth is already struggling to contain the billions of people currently living on it and this has given rise to problems like climate change, global warming and resources depletion.
The counter-response that transhumanists give is that humans must start occupying spaces outside of Earth, in other planets if and when the population increases extremely, which is ridiculous and easier said than done.
3. Creates Disparities
With life extension, brain-intelligence, and other technical enhancements, the current inequalities will be intensified. The financial status would become the determining factor in gaining an advanced lifestyle. This will create differences between people who have access to the revolutionary technologies and people who cannot access the same and will be regarded as unworthy of living in the evolutionary world.
The idea of a world without illness and disease and an increased immortality rate is exciting, but how much will we lose to gain that?