Transhumanism and Posthumanism: The future

[ZombiezuRFER]

What are your thoughts, feelings, ideas, and warnings about transhumanism?  Please keep discussion and debates friendly.


I plan on becoming a form of transhuman by transplanitng my brain and spinal cord into either an anthropomorphic Spinosaurus or full Spinosaurus body.

[✡]

I believe transhumanism will not go in the way of making any anthros (well at least to begin with). I subscribe to the idea that transhumanism will take place first as life extension treatments and then later alterations to improve upon the human body.
In the novel Brave New World transhumanism was used in order to class humans into different genetic "castes". While I believe this will not exactly be the thing that will happen, we will begin manufacturing perfect human beings to begin with. Which I am in favor of

[ZombiezuRFER]

If transhumanism were simply life extension, than wouldn't the radical body modding be something like a trans-trans-transhuman?  We already increase lifespan with prosthetics and medicine, but I can see the most radical expansion being the gradual brain uploading.

[✡]

transhumanism begins with life extension and such. we are already in a state of transhumanism by altering the human body like we do. I do see that you're more interested in more far-off dreams of transhumanism though, and that I can appreciate.

[ZombiezuRFER]

Perhaps not as far off as you may think.  It would be a surprisingly simple, if dangerous, procedure to transplant the brain and spine into another body.  The main problem, however, is just retaining consciousness, but I believe that can be done by using sterile environment, moving the entire skull and spine with brain hooked to special IV set, and cutting out the brain and spinal cord and planting them into the new body.  More than likely, it is not a surgery a human could directly participate in.


I feel that once that is done, the transhumanism we see in scifi will pretty much have arrived, as a sort of singularity (singularity as in where previous generations will be unable to comprehend the new technology)  The brain and spine transplant would need some hefty amounts of genetic engineering and computer engineering just to be able to use the new body.

[Sigcutio]

This is an interesting thread as I've never really heard of transhumanism! Although it sounds interesting, I do hold some reservations. I feel it could be pushing science a bit too far and the thought of perfecting the human race does not really sit well with me.

In the novel Brave New World transhumanism was used in order to class humans into different genetic "castes". While I believe this will not exactly be the thing that will happen, we will begin manufacturing perfect human beings to begin with. Which I am in favor of

What KangaDrake says is actually where I feel most uneasy. The movie Gattaca portrays a world where people could pay for their children to be genetically perfect. However, regular humans are treated as inferior while those who are genetically superior have to deal with the psychological torment of having to be perfect. If genetic manufacturing does become available it seems that it could have some unpleasant consequences.


Also the procedure ZombiezuRFER describes sounds incredibly dangerous. In this case, I ask is it really worth the risk?


Just my thoughts though.

[ZombiezuRFER]

The procedure is only worth the risk to those willing to go through with that.
Transhumanism isnt the perfection of the human race, as you can't perfect it.  Transhumanism is, to put it bluntly, going beyond the confines of simply being human.  Life expansion does that, even computers make you transhuman, but now transhumanism is relegated to the body and mind more or less.

[maggintons]

id become a cat

[ZombiezuRFER]

The size of the animal is typically inverse to the time it will take to develope the technology to become it.  To become a cat, you'd probably need to "robotify" your brain first, and then the cat is given a computer for a brain.  Essentially, to become a cat and retain your entire intellect, the only way would be to have that cat as an RC body, but that means that you could also use various bodies too.

[Puncia]

I've read some pretty interesting stuff on cat research and how their brain works. In essence they're just as smart as monkeys and rats, but because their brain works so differently, they are not very good problem solvers. They are excellent at what they do (evolved into) but they're just too different to compare to a human brain that it's impossible to say if they're "smart" in our sense.

Presented with a string they have to pull to get the treat on the other side of a glass wall, they usually get it right. Though with two strings where only one has a treat they only get it 50% of the time. If the strings are crossed, they always choose the wrong one.
But they also show extremely good memory and adaptability. direct vocal communication with humans is not uncommon either. (Tell them to come to bed by sitting and meowing at their face, if it's passed their regular bedtime, etc.)

Which is maybe a bit out of topic here but if you put it in context with the original topic I think it's interesting and a thing to keep in mind with transplants.

[White Wolf Guardian]

Case and point in our world I'd never become any sort of animal with a human brain, thing I could legally become someone's pet and be their slave

Though in seriousness, I just think strongly traditional people would not react well to it in any way at all and anyone who does it would become another target of oppression. Then on to the "usefulness" side of things, unless you are retired you aren't exactly going to be able to do much of anything productive anymore... so I have no idea how you would make a living.

[✡]

the first step of transhumanism will be improving standards of health and such, which I support. at this point in time messing with human and animal DNA doesn't seem...practical

[ZombiezuRFER]

Though in seriousness, I just think strongly traditional people would not react well to it in any way at all and anyone who does it would become another target of oppression. Then on to the "usefulness" side of things, unless you are retired you aren't exactly going to be able to do much of anything productive anymore... so I have no idea how you would make a living.

Transhumanism is when rights are shifted away from being exclusively human, to exclusively sapient.  Arguably, that means that many birds will have rights too, but that's besides the point.  As of now, so long as a transhuman is a novelty, it would probably be lucrative to just live your life like an animal in a zoo, albeit doing whatever you want.  The first transhumans will undoubtedly be media sensations, and so turning you house into a zoo, you as its exhibit, would get you some money. 

[icy wolf]

this experiment was conducted in a smiler way be for, it was scuffle but the test subjects died with in a few day. the experment  was done with two diffrent monkyes, there heads where both transplanted. the monkeys sirucome to  starvation as far as i know. but if this dose become a reality where would the line be drawn for what is human and what isn't?

[ZombiezuRFER]

Monkey head switching is sure to result in failure, as switching the ENTIRE head is generally a worse idea than just pulling out your brain and spinal cord. 


To draw a line between what is human and what is not would be idiocy once transhumans run amok, because what about brain uploading?  Essentially, brain uploading means that the person is no longer human, but an AI.  So the distinction of human and non human becomes extremely stupid.  Probably it will be a religious superiority thing, but the real distinction is sapience from non sapience.