Assess The Difference Between Post-Humanism And Trans-Humanism

Humanism is a philosophical and ethical stance on the value of human beings. The idea of humanism started around the early to mid-14th century starting with Petrarch, who is considered to most, as the “father of humanism.” Petrarch’s expertise in the promotion of this study earned him the name as the first great humanist. Humanism first started to become popular in the mid-15th century though during the Italian Renaissance due to many factors but at the same humanism was spreading all throughout Europe and became increasingly popular in Northern Europe, but didn’t spread as fast. With humanism spreading around in different areas of the world it was safe to assume that the teachings and practice of humanism from these areas would also be

To clarify, the “human condition” is an ambiguous term used to describe the foundational aspects of humanity, both the instinctive traits, which all animals have, and the further-evolved or uniquely-human traits, which set us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. To illustrate my purpose, I will focus on the both aspects, since both prevent us from thinking logically and acting objectively.

The base function of humanity is to survive, no matter the cost. Combined with the constant need to evolve and adapt to whatever surrounds them, humans are much like cockroaches in the sense that it is nearly impossible to wipe them out. Whether that evolution comes from thousands of years of natural selection or from a sudden change in surroundings that gives no choice but to change or die. Humans change naturally or force the change upon themselves. This kind of change is better known as human augmentation and been explored through several sources, real and fictional.

The questions, “What does it mean to be human, and how might we transcend human nature?” have been a subject of debate for philosophical and theological thinkers for centuries. In recent history, scientific discoveries have led to a resurgence of these ancient debates that break down into three primary schools of thought. There are those who believe that we, like the rest of the animal kingdom, have certain basic “programming” that determines our fundamental nature, and those who believe that human beings are born “tabula rasa” and that nurture determines who we are. The issue becomes increasingly complex for those with the theological belief that human beings are spiritual creatures and that our spirituality is what defines us. However, a

To examine this possibility, Garreau interviewed Nick Bostrom, co-founder of the World Transhumanist Association. Bostrom shows his agreement with human transcendence by asserting that “Technological progress makes it harder for people to ignore the fact that we might actually change the human nature” (qtd. in Garreau, 242).

Transhumanism is the idea that the advancement of technology will better the human species into a more advanced social and political existence, or literally meaning beyond human. There are many ways that transhumanism can be achieved throughout the next thirty years, some of these being medical modifications to the human body, how the human body reacts to the aging process, and those who are included to have basic human rights. Although transhumanism may give the human species certain advantages in their social and political lives, they risk their dignity, and uniqueness.

Since the first day that humans were put on this earth, they have been curious and have searched for ways to become more efficient. Throughout the years they have created tools to better serve them, created clothing to keep them warm, built homes to protect them from the elements, and produced transportation methods to transport them across the world. In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932), the human race has evolved to being extremely efficient in everything that they do. This efficiency includes producing new human beings. Science has taken over and altered the society.

Humans are the results of the challenges that they have faced through the journey of life. During that journey, humans have learned and adapted to the changing and, sometimes, the harsh time periods. However, they have learned from their journey and brought new changes that greatly benefited the human society. For example, the civil rights movement, largely, was to convince the Caucasian-led society and government to end discrimination and racial segregation against African Americans. Eventually, their “destination” was reached which is the passing of the Civil Rights Act, but that could never happen if they had not gone through the journey. The experiences that they faced during the movement had changed them forever, while they were bringing

Today, there are over 7 billion people in the world and with that number steadily increasing there is constant interaction, growth, battles and self-defining taking place. Nearly every person lives in hopes to define themselves and how they act; what they do not realize is there is something in the way of that goal. This something is what comes naturally in human nature called the human condition. The human condition is defined as, “a phrase…used with respect [to describe] situations that humans face in 'getting along with each other and the world…” (The Human Condition). Simply put, the human condition makes the how and the why of the way we act the with one another and the environment. Many aspects of the individual person can define the

This weeks assignment highlights the connection that of race to the environment and the human ability to adapt. Race refers to physical traits and genetics shared by individuals within a group (merrier Webster, 2015). Race is a blanket term that groups rather than individualizes, this grouping may lead to stereotyping and misconceptions regarding a variety of issues. On a the contrary, the word plasticity describes the evolutionary changes that organisms [primarily humans], have undergone in order to adapt to their living conditions and environment (Bogin, 1998, p. 185). Bogin, dismisses the rigidity of race and genetics, and embraces the Homo sapiens' ability to adapt to their environment. It has been well argued that both socioeconomics

The word posthuman signals something that comes after human, but keeps the essence of a human. As Katherine Hayles suggests, the posthuman does not mean the end of the humanity and the rise of the non-human, more like a shared partnership between humans and non-humans, continuously challenging the boundaries between the two. But where are these boundaries? I think nowadays there are several new inventions in biology, technology and reproduction which can redefine the limits of humanity and the beginning of posthumanity. To illustrate this uncertainty in locating these limits, I would use the example of Neil Bedmington. In his essay, ‘Theorizing Posthumanism’ he chose an instance from the cover of Time, which raises the problem of human remains. In 1983 the Time magazine was expected to announce its “Man of the Year”. The winner was unexpected and a bit strange, compared to the previous ones. "Several human candidates might have represented 1982," the publisher of the magazine explained to his readers, "but none symbolized the past year more richly, or will be viewed by history as more significant, than a machine: the computer." "Man of the Year" turned into "Machine of the Year," and on the cover, the headline said: "The computer moves in." (fig.1.) The event did not go unnoticed, three weeks later the letter page of Time had over thirty responses to the award, and only a few of them were satisfied with the winner. Irving Kullback was one of the happy ones: "I never

4, pp. 69 ff.), "Humanism recognizes the value and dignity of man and makes him the measure of all things or somehow takes human nature, its limits, or its interests as its theme."

The individual’s role in society dramatically changed following the introduction of humanism. The idea that was depicted is still heavily important today and still holds strong within society. Humanism brought forward the thought that everyone is important and the concept of individuality. Humanism created the notion that instead of being part of a whole, everyone is unique. Before this introduction, most just thought about their actions and what consequences it had in the afterlife; Whether that be going to heaven or hell. Following the emergence of humanism, people started to think more about the present, encouraging education in humanity, the study of literature and enhancement of art – all this expanded an individual’s outlook on life and in turn allowed for the development of personal success.

Garreau, Joel. Radical Evolution: The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies- and What It Means to Be Human. New York: Random House, 2005. Print.

Taking a glance look at the wording of posthumanism portray a sense of an aftermath of humanism. The wording of posthumanism, notwithstanding, Lorimer (2009) states that posthumanism as a term is characterized by ambiguities and the fate of uncertainties that befall postmodernism is the same fate that bedeviled posthumanism. Lorimer defines posthumanism as “populist diagnosis of a new era, a new mode of critical inquiry that defines itself in relation to humanism, and a working through of the latter’s critical tradition’ (p.344). This definition by Lorimer is insufficient because it does not entail so much than merely defining posthumanism in a relative relationship to humanism. A more useful and practical explanation on posthumanism is the idea that it’s out of place to suggest that humans’ position is privileged and unique among other beings, including non-humans. Challenging this centrality of humans’ position has been the focus of the posthumanist agenda in human geography; inspired and advocated by scholars, including Bruno Latour and Donna Haraway (Latour, 2004 cited in Anderson, 2014). As succinctly echoed by Anderson, the critical goal of posthumanism is to challenge the deep-seated discourse of humanism that “separate and elevates the humans from the natural world” (Anderson, 2014, p.4). Castree and Nash cited in Anderson (2014) note that the term posthumanism has been used in two different ways: for historical analysis and for a theoretical framing in geography.