Transhumanism - Engineering the Human Condition - History, Philosophy and Current Status

This book is designed to offer a comprehensive high-level introduction to transhumanism, an international political and cultural movement that aims to produce a "paradigm shift" in our ethical and political understanding of human evolution. Transhumanist thinkers want the human species to take the course of evolution into its own hands, using advanced technologies currently under development - such as robotics, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cognitive neurosciences, and nanotechnology - to overcome our present physical and mental limitations, improve our intelligence beyond the current maximum achievable level, acquire skills that are currently the preserve of other species, abolish involuntary aging and death, and ultimately achieve a post-human level of existence. The book covers transhumanism from a historical, philosophical, and scientific viewpoint, tracing its cultural roots, discussing the main philosophical, epistemological, and ethical issues, and reviewing the state of the art in scientific research on the topics of most interest to transhumanists. The writing style is clear and accessible for the general reader, but the book will also appeal to graduate and undergraduate students.

List of contents

Introduction. Technological Heaven.- Chapter 1. Stairways to the Sky.- Chapter 2. Across the transhumanist galaxy.- Chapter 3. A new Tower of Babel.- Chapter 4. Living forever.- Chapter 5. Plan B.- Chapter 6. Nanometric Cornucopia.- Chapter 7. The New Flesh rising.- Chapter 8. Trans-humans in the geopolitical arena.- Chapter 9. Colonizing the mind.- Chapter 10. Synthetic bodies, artificial minds.- Chapter 11. Toward a radical life expansion.- Chapter 12. Rapture of the Nerd.- Chapter 13. The light of the very far future.- Chapter 14. Transhumanism and science: a reality check.- Conclusion. Stealing God's Thunder.

Product details

• Authors: Roberto Manzocco
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 20.03.2019
• EAN: 9783030049560
• ISBN: 978-3-0-3004956-0
• No. of pages: 293
• Dimensions: 167 mm x 18 mm x 238 mm
• Weight: 538 g
• Illustrations: XIX, 293 p. 2 illus.
• Series: Springer Praxis Books; Popular Science
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Technology; Anthropologie, Philosophie, Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, B, Künstliche Intelligenz, History, Technology, Technologie, allgemein, Artificial Intelligence, Anthropology, Philosophy, engineering, Technology: general issues, Epistemology, History of Science, Philosophy of Technology, Philosophie: Epistemologie und Erkenntnistheorie, Philosophy: epistemology & theory of knowledge, Technology and Engineering, Popular Science in Technology, Philosophy: epistemology and theory of knowledge