Differentiating Human Enhancement and Transhumanism: Better or Perfect?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/SetF.2025.007Keywords
biological body, future, human enhancement, mind uploading, transhumanismAbstract
Philosophical concern for the human future is more important today than ever because of the ethical, social, and technological challenges we face—Human Enhancement (HE) and Transhumanism (H+) are some of the theories that are involved with the future of our species. These two positions tend to be confused, but we contend that a distinction can and should be made between the two approaches. To perform this explanation, we propose two axes of differentiation: the concept of enhancement itself and the valuation of the biological body. In this context, H+ begins with a disregard for the body and seeks to transcend the human condition with exponential enhancements, while HE advocates a gradual enhancement within our current limits. Clarifying this contrast between H+ and HE is vital for the responsible adoption of future technologies, enabling informed decisions about which scientific promises are viable and worthy of support, and which should be reconsidered.References
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