H+: Does transhumanism ‘sacrifice the rights of the individual on the altar of the collective good’?

Credit: David Vintiner
Credit: David Vintiner

Transhumanism (Humanity+ or hereafter H+) is a 20th– century endeavor grounded in rational humanism that trusts technological advances to answer two key questions of human existence: “What does it mean to be human?” and “What is the future of humanity?”

For the transhumanist, these two questions can be answered by technology. There is, on that view, singularity and immortality. The idea of immorality—life without end—makes intuitive sense. Ironically, however, the concept of singularity has no singular definition.

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For H+, the definition of what it means to be human must evolve with technology. With no fixed definition of human, H+ portends the evolution of human rights so that society can “protect” the new humanity from the old human. So, does the problem of H+ mean that the use of technology to help humans is inherently evil? No. There is a valid distinction between technology used to maximize the human condition and technology used to deny the inherent beauty of our common humanity.

Eradication of suffering, biological defects, and infirmities are values that welcome the use of technological advance, but this goal cannot be achieved by sacrificing the rights of the individual person on the altar of the collective good.

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here. 

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