Transhumanism is an international intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of science and technology to improve human mental and physical characteristics and capacities. ...
IS improvement ALWAYS better in the grand scheme of things? Do we REALLY want lenses in our eyes that can be used for receiving and sending text and who knows what else?! It's interesting in our culture how we're made comfortable with ideas and concepts that dig further and further into our humanity...
In a day and age where there are constant technological advancements that most certainly, at least in some fashion, make our lives more convenient, a question arises. Is it something that is necessary and needed for us to realize our full potential? There are many who would answer that question with an unequivocal YES, without really fully thinking about how they arrived at that answer. Sure, on the surface it seems that most certainly any technological advancement that adds convenience to our lives would be something that we should desire and embrace. Ah, but when we delve a little deeper and look at some of the consequences of convenience , we can reasonably determine that EVERYTHING being absolutely convenient (immediate gratification) isn't always the best thing for us. Just because we like something doesn't always mean it's good for us.
I am posing the questions, general statements and some specific statements on this subject to give cause for us to think critically about how utterly and quickly our tech and society is advancing in some areas. In addition to that, I also want to bring to the attention of those who are willing to read this, that there is distinct decline in our social and interpersonal encounters and relationships even with all the convenience we experience these days in 2012.. We see it in many ways every day through our social networks, texting, no cashier grocery checkouts, automated phone systems with no real person on the other end of the line, etc... I could go on but just those few I mentioned are integral in the decline in human contact.
OK, while some of this may seem like the ramblings of an older guy who is complaining that the world is not how he remembers it in times not so long ago, consider this... I have a computer that is very well configured, a cell phone, an LCD LED T.V. with/remote, a hi tech infrared space heater etc... So, I'm not living in the dark ages and this message isn't coming from someone who is totally adverse to the ideas of technological advancement. However, transhumanism is, at least somewhat, an entirely whole other subject that encompasses many, many different aspects of technology. Technology such as biotechnology, neural engineering, bionics (What's that you say?! LOL), cloning, nanotechnology, augmented reality (reference in a link below for Wikipedia) etc...
What are the ultimate ramifications or consequences to all of this transhumanism by people and businesses that are growing at an almost exponential rate? I'm sure none of us can say for sure but there is a resounding message by some that we should be using relative caution and not just run with this.
Do we need a better human being? IS that the answer to our world's problems or are we missing something that is and has been in us all along? Can we not experience to the fullest without some of this technology? Have we somewhat lost that aspect of ourselves already? We are constantly bombarded through the media with news, commercials, biased documentaries and marketing schemes that suggest these things will make our lives and us better. There are so many things that we are told we just HAVE to HAVE and that our lives will be less without them. It's really a personal decision and this little piece, if for anything, is to encourage us to look at what it is we're really doing. The tech should truly be serving US; not the other way around.
In closing, I'd like to say that I embrace technology of all sorts. I personally find it just as easy, inviting and fulfilling to do some things in what some would call the old fashioned way. My feelings and attitudes about this upcoming new world we'll be experiencing may be just mine. Hopefully the men, women and businesses will temper their drive for technological improvement and profit with, at least, a touch of humanity and think about the possible consequences that could occur...
There are many links, videos, and articles one can read on this subject and I've provided a few of them below.
http://transhumanism.asu.edu/themes/social_legal.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_transhumanism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0-zKZhdjsI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEZ27EhhW8A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e30M3hw3u04
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z8bU41X-EM
http://www.transhumanism.org/resources/videos.htm
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