Pros And Cons Of Transhumanism

Man, in the eyes of another man, is always incomplete. Fault is met with the resilience and strength to constantly forward as a species, creating and implementing the biggest and best factors of human life into individual traits. With its innovative and flourishing ideas, the study of transhumanism propels mankind into the biological role it was born to inhabit, and eventually, exceed. Transhumanism is the controversial field of philosophical science that strives to further the "ideal" human through scientific and technological development. Transhumanists believe that the current human condition is far inferior to its theoretical potential, leaving room for gradual and constant upgrades in the emotional, physical, and mental human experience.
Oxford Professor, Nick Bostrom, explains that in longevity studies, anti-aging and disease elimination technologies increase not only lifespan, but “healthspan”, or the ability to “…grow older without aging”.3 Man’s crisp idea of youth could be attained through the science of reverse-aging, which is achieved through the revolutionary concept of gene therapy. In gene therapy, genes can “…be designed to either block undesirable disease-encouraging genes or introduce new ones that slow down and even reverse aging processes”.5 The lengthening of life expectancy, in addition, focuses on the expiration of death causes. Ray Kurzweil, accredited futurist author and inventor, explains that with the total elimination of trivial death causes, humans will be introduced to a lifespan of five hundred to one thousand years.5 This process removes uncertainty from the concept of death; giving humans the longest and most vital time possible on Earth. Death is given on the terms of man, not an accident or the feeble weakness of disease. Increased longevity gives man control over life; a safety net in a world of
The actual “framework” of man’s ascension as a species comes from technological inputs, such as those of nanobots, a popular convention in the transhumanist practices. Nanobots are molecular-sized robots, which can be coded to function in any biological need, from the healing of wounds to the repair of dying cells. These minuscule nanobots can also take refuge in the brain, displaying another portion of transhumanistic ideas: increased super intelligence. Kurzweil explains that through the use of molecular intelligence aids, “Machine intelligence will improve its own abilities in a feedback cycle that unaided human intelligence will not be able to follow.”5 The time it takes for artificial intelligence, such as computers, to evolve, is drastically shrinking, while our mental capacity is growing; making for a period of exponential growth where growth time shortens and intelligence between man and machine syncs.4 This period may be referred to by transhumanists as “technological singularity”, or a time of constant self-replacing innovation between artificial and biological intellect. This displays transhumanism as a “bigger picture” science; more invested in long-term rather than instant development, accounting for the success of future humans, or in this case, prototypes. According to Bostrom, this symbiotic super intelligence would further mankind in its most important fields; creation of art, emotional