Abstract
Transhumanism is an intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the desirability, if not the obligation, to use emerging technologies to transcend the limitation of our bodies and brains for the improvement of the human condition. The potential transition from humanity to posthumanity, however, cannot be limited to the concerns of the few who have access to enhancement technologies. For this reason, this entry locates the debates over transhumanism and its social and ethical implications within the context of globalization and global bioethics in particular. First, an overview of the early conceptualization of transhumanism is provided, followed by an analysis of the nature and goals of transhumanism as understood today, and then an account of the particular milieu in which bioethics and transhumanism emerged in the context of globalization. Subsequently, the relationship between values and technological progress is discussed, which sets the stage of an examination of the question concerning the alteration of human nature and an overview of the social implications of emerging technologies for extension of human life beyond biology.
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Acknowledgment
Some of the elements of this chapter are based on Jotterand, F. Book review in the Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, Allen Buchanan (2011). Beyond Humanity? Oxford: Oxford University Press. Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews [with permission].
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Jotterand, F., McCurdy, J.L. (2016). Transhumanism. In: ten Have, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09483-0_423
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