Transhumanism, Nature, and the Ends of Science

This book offers a social, political, and aesthetic critique of transhumanism and of the accelerating growth of scientific knowledge generally. Rather than improving our lives, science and technology today increasingly leave us debilitated and infantilized. It is time to restrain the runaway ambitions of technoscientific knowledge.

The transhumanist goal of human enhancement encapsulates a range of dangerous social pathologies. Like transhumanism itself, these pathologies are rooted in, or in reaction to, the ethos of 'more'. It's a cultural love affair with excess, which is prompted by the libertarian standards of our cultural productions. But the attempt to live at the speed of an electron is destined for failure.

In response, the author offers a naturalistic account of human flourishing where we attend to the natural rhythms of life. The interdisciplinary orientation of Transhumanism, Nature, and the Ends of Science makes it relevant to scholars and students across a wide range of disciplines, including social and political philosophy, philosophy of technology, science and technology studies, environmental studies, and public policy.

List of contents

The Bones of the Argument

Chapter 1: The Tools of Our Tools

Chapter 2: Beyond the Human Condition

Chapter 3: Life in the Transition

Excursus I: The Practice of Philosophy in the 21st Century

Chapter 4: Aging Boys Will be the Death of Us

Chapter 5: Science as Pharmakon

Excursus II: Philosophy, Rhetoric, Policy

Chapter 6: The Metaphysics of Transhumanism

Chapter 7: Contemplating a Medium Sized Catastrophe

Chapter 8: The Consolation of Geology

About the author

Robert Frodeman is Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Texas. He is the author and/or editor of 16 books, including the Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity, Sustainable Knowledge: A Theory of Interdisciplinarity, and Socrates Tenured: The Institutions of 21st Century Philosophy (with Adam Briggle).

Summary

This book is an interdisciplinary account of the role of science and technology in contemporary culture, culminating in a social-political and philosophical critique of transhumanism. The author probes the assumptions of transhumanist thinkers and prominent critics as he develops his own distinctive take on transhumanism.

Product details

• Authors: Robert Frodeman, Frodeman Robert
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.06.2021
• EAN: 9781032092263
• ISBN: 978-1-0-3209226-3
• No. of pages: 176
• Series: Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > General, dictionaries; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Natural sciences (general); Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: general, reference works; Sociology, Science: general issues, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General, PHILOSOPHY / Ethics & Moral Philosophy, Philosophy, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Environmental / General, SCIENCE / Research & Methodology, Ethics & moral philosophy, environmental science, engineering & technology, Ethics and moral philosophy, Environmental science, engineering and technology, Scientific research, Science Funding & Policy, Science funding and policy, Research methods: general