Transhumanism and Quest for Transcendence
README: If you need a quick briefing on the meaning of “transhumanism”, you may find the first video from BBC helpful. Video #2 on Neil Harbisson, a live cyborg, is quite intriguing. Born color-blind, he got himself implanted with a brain device connected to an external antenna to receive color signals from his surroundings (as well as through the internet)! David Eagleman, a neuroscientist featured in a PBS series on ‘The Brain’, in his talk on ‘Creating New Human Senses’ (Video #3) describes how he trains himself to perceive signals beyond normal human perception.
README: Sebastian Seung, a computational neuroscientist, declares “I am my connectome”. In a TED Talk (Video #4), he introduces “connectome” as the complete network of one’s neurons and synapses, that enables memory and even consciousness. Such a computational brain model leads to the intriguing imagination of mind cloning and uploading for internet-empowered creativity and digital immortality. The movie ‘Transcendence’ builds on such notions and imagines how such endeavors may develop into a dystopia. (Trailer as Video #5)
Thomas Fuchs, psychiatrist cum philosopher, argues strongly against the idea of disembodied consciousness. His talk (Video #6) on ‘Transhumanism, Embodied Cognition and Psychiatry’, is part of the lectures series “Human Flourishing in a Technological World” hosted at Regent College/ University of British Columbia. For more of the lectures in that series, you are highly recommended to visit the site listed under the additional references.
README: Transcendence has long been a human quest since the very beginning. Transhumanists draw momentum from the recent advances in musculoskeletal & neural engineering, tissue & genome engineering, as well as social robotics & artificial intelligence to fuel their pursuit of transcendence. The last two video presentations (#7 & #8) on ‘Transhumanism’ and ‘Critique of Transhumanism’ by the Site Host cover a wide spectrum of multidisciplinary scholarship from both the transhumanists and their critiques. The questions listed afterwards are raised for your thoughtful reflection.
TO REFLECT:
Brain is often portrayed as a general-purpose computational device and mind as signals running through its massive network. Some fantasize to clone one’s mind by copying one’s detailed connectome and to upload such a “mind” to the digital cloud for everlasting life. Do you think you can be reduced to a computer model mimicking a network of neurons and synapses? Could you really be “cloned” that way? Would you want to live forever – for what? and how?
In ‘Transhumanists’ Manifesto’, Simon Young states that Man is not born free, but everywhere in biological chains… As humanism freed us from the chains of superstition, let transhumanism free us from our biological chains. Do you think your biology enables you to do most of what you want to do, or constraints you from doing so?
In his letter to Mother Nature, Max More announces an agenda of amendments to the human constitution using science and technology. They all sound like great enhancements to have, but seemingly at no cost and without any compromise. Do these sound more like hypes? An ideology rather than careful science and responsible technology?
In his lecture on ‘Critique of Transhumanism’, the Site Host suggests that designs and optimizations are for specific purposes. They are not meant to enable all kinds of purposes. If you are trying to enhance yourself, do you know what purposes you are living for?
TO WRAP UP: Human Quest for Transcendence – Video #9 is an excerpt from a lecture delivered by the Site Host to a class in CUHK. Do you want to remake yourself if you can? Why are stronger and faster necessarily better? Why do we seek immortality? Are we trying to be like God?
Do we need any transcendent agency to help us transcend? How about God? After all, God is the first bioengineer with the original know-how in musculoskeletal & neural engineering, tissue & genome engineering, social robotics & artificial intelligence! He is the ultimate reference for good & evil and the ultimate source of strength, intelligence & life. We are special with an apparent capacity to relate to Him, but we tend to walk away. He is around and available to help us forward, but only via accepting His invitation to join Him. If God offers to be your transcendent agent, would you seek His help?
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Bionic Humans 