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When one tries to edit the Transhumanism article, one can read the following warning at the top of the page:
This page is 39 kilobytes long. This may be longer than is preferable; see article size
I've trimmed the article just enough for the warning to go away. I recommend that future editors be as concise as possible and avoid adding redundant information. -- Loremaster 23:04, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
"Transhumanism" as a term is not employed by analytic philosophers of any hue. Suffice it to say that "transhumanism" as an "emergent philosophy" is an overeggageration, at best. I'll be reediting this page significantly to bring it up to par with the other branches of materialism. Amicuspublilius 02:25, 26 May 2005 (UTC)
This showed up on Human Brain: "The ethical/political theory known as Transhumanism is largely concerned with methods of enhancing the human brain; although enhancement of the body and peripheral nervous system is also proposed, the brain is considered the common denominator of personhood and is thus the primary focus of Transhumanist ambitions." If that's true and interesting, could somebody integrate the material here? I wasn't sure if it was necessary, but I didn't want to toss the text outright. -- William Pietri 14:39, 13 August 2005 (UTC)
Mark Alan Walker might be a good source for the brain focus material since he has written an essay on that very subject. -- Loremaster 20:05, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
Unless one can provide online documentation of transhumanist technocracy has an existing and organized (rather than simply conceptual) current with transhumanism, its mention will be deleted. Loremaster 16:45, 16 August 2005 (UTC)
Among the copyedits, I thought i'd flag these changes: 1] i de-linked john spencer, since none of the disambiguated people seemed to be the right one. 2] i tried to increase the NPOV in the Drexler paragraph. Hope that helps, "alyosha" 22:21, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
The reference to Broderick really has to be deleted or changed. His novel The Judas Mandala in no way belongs in a history of transhumanism. If anything, that particular text is more anti-transhumanist than otherwise. Broderick's expressed attitudes to cyborg technologies, etc., changed greatly during the 1980s and 1990s, after this work was written. It would be better to refer to his later non-fiction books, such as The Spike and The Last Mortal Generation. I'm confident that Broderick has never actually called himself a transhumanist, though he has been broadly associated with the transhumanist movement for the past decade or so. Metamagician3000 12:47, 26 December 2005 (UTC)
The fiction section has been getting very long and strays in topic quite a bit from the rest of the article, which deals with the real-life variety of transhumanism. Also, the article has passed 30kb in size. I'd like to fork this section into a separate article if none here are opposed. -- Schaefer 02:06, 22 December 2005 (UTC)
I think that McKibben's view is considerably more precise and sophisticated (even though I happen not to agree ith it) than its representation here. At some point, I'll try to tighten up the relevant sentence, if no one else does so. Metamagician3000 12:21, 26 December 2005 (UTC)
Edward Smith (psychologist) is the person that composed The Catalog Of Correctable Omnipresent Human Flaws. He has also made scientific discoveries that are major, fundamental, and verifiable, which have made transhumanism rightfully look good by association (not to imply that transhumanism NEEDS that, mind you, but it says something good about transhumanism when such people are major contributors thereof).
I don't think that you would like the article of one of your major contributors deleted, so I am notifying you of this. Weigh in on the VfD and RfC if you have anything to say about it. IrreversibleKnowledge 21:55, 6 January 2006 (UTC)
Because of the discussion here, i thought it would be good to make folks aware of the notices i've just placed on transtopianism, and the explanation i posted in Talk:Transtopianism. I look forward to your input there. Thx, hope this helps, "alyosha" (talk) 00:40, 11 January 2006 (UTC)
Anonymous user 129.116.45.178 added a NPOV tag to the Transhumanism article, implying that its neutrality was in dispute. However, this was done without explanation. Until one is provided, the tag will be removed. -- Loremaster 14:17, 9 February 2006 (UTC)
The reference to S. Newman and J. Rifkin as "bio-luddites" and "bio-conservatives" is just name-calling. Newman is a biologist whose research employs modern technology and has generated novel concepts in developmental and evolutionary theory. Rifkin is a progressive social critic who advocates a technological "soft path" rather than a "hard path." None of this is alluded to here. Much of this article is compromised by a lack of neutrality. StN 06:35, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
I deleted the word "draconian". Whether the proposed measures are draconian or not is a matter of opinion. Metamagician3000 08:15, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
It seems to me that the Posthuman Future argument and Brave New World argument are mislabeled. "Brave New World" does not deal with monsters like "Frankenstein" or human-animal hybrids as in "The Island of Dr. Moreau," but rather a future in which humans are made to order to fit certain social needs. However, the attempt to produce such designer people (i.e., the Posthuman Future), according to critics, will inevitably produce erroneous results ("Frankenstein"; "Dr. Moreau") that will be misfits in society and nature. This also shows that some practical and ethical criticisms are also intimately related to each other in a way that is not clear in the article as it currently stands. Perhaps the "Posthuman Future" argument should be renamed "Brave New World" and what is now "Brave New World" should be renamed "Frankenstein/Dr. Moreau." A separate paragraph should indicate the confluence of the practical and ethical arguments, an issue discussed at length by Newman at http://www.thehumanfuture.org/commentaries/newman_averting.pdf StN 05:41, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
The comment above has not been addressed in the Discussion, and I am reluctant to implement my suggestions without feedback from the principal authors. To reiterate, Huxley's concerns in "Brave New World" were much more similar to those attributed (correctly) to Fukuyama in the Posthuman Future section. Shelley's concerns in "Frankenstein" were more akin to those listed here in the Brave New World section. Wells was similarly concerned about the prospect of technology corrupting the relationships among living beings. This could be done deliberately or inadvertantly, which connects this scenario to the one on Practical Arguments. StN 16:48, 23 February 2006 (UTC)
Hmmm, sorry guys but I'm now getting a bit worried about this issue. I'm minded to delete this bit: "Some thinkers who are sympathetic to transhumanist ideas, such as Russell Blackford, have also objected to the slippery slope reasoning involved in the use of Brave New World-type arguments. According to this view, some innovations might, indeed, be unwise (at least in some circumstances), but they could be regulated without abandoning others that might bring benefits.[35]" I think it's accurate, I'm but not sure it belongs precisely where it is now. In fact, I'm not sure that the concern currently under Brave New World arguments really is precisely, or at least entirely, what people like Leon Kass have in mind when they allude to Brave New World. I think the point is really something that we haven't covered here at all, that various activities and relationships, including some that have traditionally been greatly valued, such as certain kinds of romantic and familial relationships, would eventually be destroyed or greatly distorted if we used technology in certain ways. However, it's difficult to be sure that that is the argument, because a lot of arguments do seem to get intertwined in the writings of Kass, Fukuyama, etc, and it can be difficult teasing out what claim is supposed to depend on what, etc. I don't want to trivialise their arguments - some of them may bave considerable force - but their authors haven't always made it easy to summarise just what the different arguments are. The comment attributed to Russell Blackford is really about how you can theoretically say, "Yes, this point, point C, is a real concern, so let's address it rather imposing bans on A and B that ostensibly lead to it via a slippery slope." I'm now not sure that there's a good spot in this article to acknowledge that POV. OTOH, I think that something needs to be said about the kind of point I have attributed to Kass, which is I point I would be wanting to include under the Brave New World sort of heading.
All this while trying to save, rather than add, words! Metamagician3000 06:39, 24 February 2006 (UTC)
Nearly there. Hopefully we almost have this nailed. Metamagician3000 10:01, 25 February 2006 (UTC)
We need to work on turning all the external links that are in the Overview and History sections of the article into references. -- Loremaster 22:54, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
We should all follow the guidelines of Wikipedia:Citing Sources. -- Loremaster 23:37, 20 February 2006 (UTC)
The reference list includes 8 (out of 46) by James Hughes, correctly described in the article as a "radical bioethicist." This is too high a proportion for any contributor to this complex and controversial field. Some of these should by replaced by writings of individuals critical of transhumanism. StN 00:04, 24 February 2006 (UTC)
It would simplify the notes and references and make them more consistent if everything that is cited more than once was changed to a reference, and cited as notes. This would apply to three of the Hughes works, two of the Bostroms, and perhaps some others. If there is agreement I will do it unless someone gets to it before me. StN 03:50, 25 February 2006 (UTC)
I found myself moved to research this subject and came upon this article. I give you the stamp of approval, for what's its worth from a moocat ;) - Moocats 18:44, 17 February 2006 (UTC)
Also, would anyone know of an avatar to utilize upon forums for transhumanism? I've seen the >H and H+ but not found an actual picture for one. - Moocats 18:44, 17 February 2006 (UTC)
Perhaps we should upload the Posthuman Future image and add it to the Transhumanism, Transhuman and Posthuman articles. Also, we should upload the image the book cover of Enough. -- Loremaster 20:14, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
I've added more images. Anymore would be excessive since this is an article not a gallery. -- Loremaster 22:01, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
I replaced the image in the Transhumanism and spirituality section with something more relevant. -- Loremaster 01:19, 4 March 2006 (UTC)
Transhumanism (sometimes abbreviated >H or H+) is an intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of new sciences and technologies to overcome human limitations and improve the human condition.
That's so general as to be meaningless, IMO. All science and technology, back to the first time a pre-human used a stick for a club, has been "to overcome human limitations and improve the human condition." What about "...supporting the use of science and technology to alter and improve the bodies and minds of human beings." ...or something like that. KarlBunker 16:56, 26 February 2006 (UTC)
See if you can both accept my new version. I think it's pretty accurate without being wishy-washy. All improvements received with gratitude; all suggestions treated with respect. :) Metamagician3000 06:56, 28 February 2006 (UTC)
From the article: Transhumanists argue that many technological advances previously believed to be impossible, such as cloning for example, were predicted by science fiction or non-fiction futurists.
I think this passage is poor stuff. Saying that "xxx was once believed to be impossible" is a silly and logically flawed argument. When I took the passage out, Loremaster put it back saying that it's a common TH argument, even if flawed. Well, saying that Jeremy Rifkin is a total poopoo-head is also probably a common TH argument (because he is a total poopoo-head), but that doesn't mean that it's an argument that should be repeated here. Secondly, cloning is a really bad example of something that was "previously believed to be impossible." I think you'd have to look long and hard to find any moderately educated person who ever said that artificial cloning of mammals was impossible. Cloning happens naturally with many plants and lower animals, and it's been done artificially with tadpoles since 1951. So cloning mammals is just not something that has ever looked "impossible". (And of course, another problem is that the sentence in the article doesn't specify artificial cloning of mammals, so it's saying that something that occurs naturally was "previously believed to be impossible.") KarlBunker 18:43, 1 March 2006 (UTC)
I can't say that I am familiar with everything that Abraham Maslow wrote, but nothing that I have read of his has anything in common with the proposed use of genetic and other somatic biotechnologies to produce improved humans. Including Maslow because of his use of the term "transhuman" distorts and trivializes the article by conflating the tradition of transcendence and spiritual awareness with the sorts of things Hughes et al. have been promoting. Does anyone think a single critic of Transhumanism in any of the categories below would have a problem with Maslow's philosophy? Why isn't Buddha listed as a transhumanist, then, or Timothy Leary?
If there is no persuasive response to this comment in the next two days I will remove the reference and citations to Maslow.
Additional support to ideas of transhumanism comes from the biological HIDL theory ( PMID 15247073), which states that humans are born with an "exceptionally high load of initial damage", and therefore "even small progress in optimizing the early-developmental processes can potentially result in a remarkable prevention of many diseases in later life, postponement of aging-related morbidity and mortality, and significant extension of healthy life span."
I have removed this text from the Overview section so we can all analyze it and debate whether or not a version of it should be included in the article. -- Loremaster 23:47, 2 March 2006 (UTC)
"HIDL" receives only a single hit on PubMed that refers to the sense of the term in this paragraph. That paper refers to the desirability of "progress in optimizing the early-developmental processes" to avoid the effects of ageing. The latter is so speculative and infeasible given the current state of knowledge in developmental biology as to disqualify it from discussion in the article. -- StN 00:05, 3 March 2006 (UTC)
Once we find sources for the following passages, I think Transhumanism will be ready for feature article candidacy:
1. Geneticist and science writer Steve Jones argues that humanity does not, and never will, have the technology that proponents of transhumanism seek. Jones claims that technologies like human genetic engineering will never be as powerful as is popularly believed.
2. Materialist transhumanists do not believe in a transcendent human soul. They often believe in the compatibility of human minds with computer hardware, with the theoretical implication that human consciousness may someday be transfered to alternative media.
3. Transhumanists concede that predictions of pending technological developments have often been inaccurate or premature. However, they respond that pronouncements that any particular technological advance is "impossible" have also been proven wrong with embarrassing frequency. Artificial cloning of adult mammals has been one of many examples.
As Metamagician pointed out, do we have a source for this? One of the Betterhumans.com columns perhaps? -- Loremaster 23:48, 3 March 2006 (UTC)
I think that the article should include a section on doping and performancing enhancing drugs. I was just reading this article on SI: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/magazine/03/06/growth0313/ . It seems to me that doping is technically within the domain of transhuman philosophy and it should be discussed head on.
![]() | This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 | ← | Archive 3 | Archive 4 | Archive 5 | Archive 6 | Archive 7 | → | Archive 10 |
When one tries to edit the Transhumanism article, one can read the following warning at the top of the page:
This page is 39 kilobytes long. This may be longer than is preferable; see article size
I've trimmed the article just enough for the warning to go away. I recommend that future editors be as concise as possible and avoid adding redundant information. -- Loremaster 23:04, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
"Transhumanism" as a term is not employed by analytic philosophers of any hue. Suffice it to say that "transhumanism" as an "emergent philosophy" is an overeggageration, at best. I'll be reediting this page significantly to bring it up to par with the other branches of materialism. Amicuspublilius 02:25, 26 May 2005 (UTC)
This showed up on Human Brain: "The ethical/political theory known as Transhumanism is largely concerned with methods of enhancing the human brain; although enhancement of the body and peripheral nervous system is also proposed, the brain is considered the common denominator of personhood and is thus the primary focus of Transhumanist ambitions." If that's true and interesting, could somebody integrate the material here? I wasn't sure if it was necessary, but I didn't want to toss the text outright. -- William Pietri 14:39, 13 August 2005 (UTC)
Mark Alan Walker might be a good source for the brain focus material since he has written an essay on that very subject. -- Loremaster 20:05, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
Unless one can provide online documentation of transhumanist technocracy has an existing and organized (rather than simply conceptual) current with transhumanism, its mention will be deleted. Loremaster 16:45, 16 August 2005 (UTC)
Among the copyedits, I thought i'd flag these changes: 1] i de-linked john spencer, since none of the disambiguated people seemed to be the right one. 2] i tried to increase the NPOV in the Drexler paragraph. Hope that helps, "alyosha" 22:21, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
The reference to Broderick really has to be deleted or changed. His novel The Judas Mandala in no way belongs in a history of transhumanism. If anything, that particular text is more anti-transhumanist than otherwise. Broderick's expressed attitudes to cyborg technologies, etc., changed greatly during the 1980s and 1990s, after this work was written. It would be better to refer to his later non-fiction books, such as The Spike and The Last Mortal Generation. I'm confident that Broderick has never actually called himself a transhumanist, though he has been broadly associated with the transhumanist movement for the past decade or so. Metamagician3000 12:47, 26 December 2005 (UTC)
The fiction section has been getting very long and strays in topic quite a bit from the rest of the article, which deals with the real-life variety of transhumanism. Also, the article has passed 30kb in size. I'd like to fork this section into a separate article if none here are opposed. -- Schaefer 02:06, 22 December 2005 (UTC)
I think that McKibben's view is considerably more precise and sophisticated (even though I happen not to agree ith it) than its representation here. At some point, I'll try to tighten up the relevant sentence, if no one else does so. Metamagician3000 12:21, 26 December 2005 (UTC)
Edward Smith (psychologist) is the person that composed The Catalog Of Correctable Omnipresent Human Flaws. He has also made scientific discoveries that are major, fundamental, and verifiable, which have made transhumanism rightfully look good by association (not to imply that transhumanism NEEDS that, mind you, but it says something good about transhumanism when such people are major contributors thereof).
I don't think that you would like the article of one of your major contributors deleted, so I am notifying you of this. Weigh in on the VfD and RfC if you have anything to say about it. IrreversibleKnowledge 21:55, 6 January 2006 (UTC)
Because of the discussion here, i thought it would be good to make folks aware of the notices i've just placed on transtopianism, and the explanation i posted in Talk:Transtopianism. I look forward to your input there. Thx, hope this helps, "alyosha" (talk) 00:40, 11 January 2006 (UTC)
Anonymous user 129.116.45.178 added a NPOV tag to the Transhumanism article, implying that its neutrality was in dispute. However, this was done without explanation. Until one is provided, the tag will be removed. -- Loremaster 14:17, 9 February 2006 (UTC)
The reference to S. Newman and J. Rifkin as "bio-luddites" and "bio-conservatives" is just name-calling. Newman is a biologist whose research employs modern technology and has generated novel concepts in developmental and evolutionary theory. Rifkin is a progressive social critic who advocates a technological "soft path" rather than a "hard path." None of this is alluded to here. Much of this article is compromised by a lack of neutrality. StN 06:35, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
I deleted the word "draconian". Whether the proposed measures are draconian or not is a matter of opinion. Metamagician3000 08:15, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
It seems to me that the Posthuman Future argument and Brave New World argument are mislabeled. "Brave New World" does not deal with monsters like "Frankenstein" or human-animal hybrids as in "The Island of Dr. Moreau," but rather a future in which humans are made to order to fit certain social needs. However, the attempt to produce such designer people (i.e., the Posthuman Future), according to critics, will inevitably produce erroneous results ("Frankenstein"; "Dr. Moreau") that will be misfits in society and nature. This also shows that some practical and ethical criticisms are also intimately related to each other in a way that is not clear in the article as it currently stands. Perhaps the "Posthuman Future" argument should be renamed "Brave New World" and what is now "Brave New World" should be renamed "Frankenstein/Dr. Moreau." A separate paragraph should indicate the confluence of the practical and ethical arguments, an issue discussed at length by Newman at http://www.thehumanfuture.org/commentaries/newman_averting.pdf StN 05:41, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
The comment above has not been addressed in the Discussion, and I am reluctant to implement my suggestions without feedback from the principal authors. To reiterate, Huxley's concerns in "Brave New World" were much more similar to those attributed (correctly) to Fukuyama in the Posthuman Future section. Shelley's concerns in "Frankenstein" were more akin to those listed here in the Brave New World section. Wells was similarly concerned about the prospect of technology corrupting the relationships among living beings. This could be done deliberately or inadvertantly, which connects this scenario to the one on Practical Arguments. StN 16:48, 23 February 2006 (UTC)
Hmmm, sorry guys but I'm now getting a bit worried about this issue. I'm minded to delete this bit: "Some thinkers who are sympathetic to transhumanist ideas, such as Russell Blackford, have also objected to the slippery slope reasoning involved in the use of Brave New World-type arguments. According to this view, some innovations might, indeed, be unwise (at least in some circumstances), but they could be regulated without abandoning others that might bring benefits.[35]" I think it's accurate, I'm but not sure it belongs precisely where it is now. In fact, I'm not sure that the concern currently under Brave New World arguments really is precisely, or at least entirely, what people like Leon Kass have in mind when they allude to Brave New World. I think the point is really something that we haven't covered here at all, that various activities and relationships, including some that have traditionally been greatly valued, such as certain kinds of romantic and familial relationships, would eventually be destroyed or greatly distorted if we used technology in certain ways. However, it's difficult to be sure that that is the argument, because a lot of arguments do seem to get intertwined in the writings of Kass, Fukuyama, etc, and it can be difficult teasing out what claim is supposed to depend on what, etc. I don't want to trivialise their arguments - some of them may bave considerable force - but their authors haven't always made it easy to summarise just what the different arguments are. The comment attributed to Russell Blackford is really about how you can theoretically say, "Yes, this point, point C, is a real concern, so let's address it rather imposing bans on A and B that ostensibly lead to it via a slippery slope." I'm now not sure that there's a good spot in this article to acknowledge that POV. OTOH, I think that something needs to be said about the kind of point I have attributed to Kass, which is I point I would be wanting to include under the Brave New World sort of heading.
All this while trying to save, rather than add, words! Metamagician3000 06:39, 24 February 2006 (UTC)
Nearly there. Hopefully we almost have this nailed. Metamagician3000 10:01, 25 February 2006 (UTC)
We need to work on turning all the external links that are in the Overview and History sections of the article into references. -- Loremaster 22:54, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
We should all follow the guidelines of Wikipedia:Citing Sources. -- Loremaster 23:37, 20 February 2006 (UTC)
The reference list includes 8 (out of 46) by James Hughes, correctly described in the article as a "radical bioethicist." This is too high a proportion for any contributor to this complex and controversial field. Some of these should by replaced by writings of individuals critical of transhumanism. StN 00:04, 24 February 2006 (UTC)
It would simplify the notes and references and make them more consistent if everything that is cited more than once was changed to a reference, and cited as notes. This would apply to three of the Hughes works, two of the Bostroms, and perhaps some others. If there is agreement I will do it unless someone gets to it before me. StN 03:50, 25 February 2006 (UTC)
I found myself moved to research this subject and came upon this article. I give you the stamp of approval, for what's its worth from a moocat ;) - Moocats 18:44, 17 February 2006 (UTC)
Also, would anyone know of an avatar to utilize upon forums for transhumanism? I've seen the >H and H+ but not found an actual picture for one. - Moocats 18:44, 17 February 2006 (UTC)
Perhaps we should upload the Posthuman Future image and add it to the Transhumanism, Transhuman and Posthuman articles. Also, we should upload the image the book cover of Enough. -- Loremaster 20:14, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
I've added more images. Anymore would be excessive since this is an article not a gallery. -- Loremaster 22:01, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
I replaced the image in the Transhumanism and spirituality section with something more relevant. -- Loremaster 01:19, 4 March 2006 (UTC)
Transhumanism (sometimes abbreviated >H or H+) is an intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of new sciences and technologies to overcome human limitations and improve the human condition.
That's so general as to be meaningless, IMO. All science and technology, back to the first time a pre-human used a stick for a club, has been "to overcome human limitations and improve the human condition." What about "...supporting the use of science and technology to alter and improve the bodies and minds of human beings." ...or something like that. KarlBunker 16:56, 26 February 2006 (UTC)
See if you can both accept my new version. I think it's pretty accurate without being wishy-washy. All improvements received with gratitude; all suggestions treated with respect. :) Metamagician3000 06:56, 28 February 2006 (UTC)
From the article: Transhumanists argue that many technological advances previously believed to be impossible, such as cloning for example, were predicted by science fiction or non-fiction futurists.
I think this passage is poor stuff. Saying that "xxx was once believed to be impossible" is a silly and logically flawed argument. When I took the passage out, Loremaster put it back saying that it's a common TH argument, even if flawed. Well, saying that Jeremy Rifkin is a total poopoo-head is also probably a common TH argument (because he is a total poopoo-head), but that doesn't mean that it's an argument that should be repeated here. Secondly, cloning is a really bad example of something that was "previously believed to be impossible." I think you'd have to look long and hard to find any moderately educated person who ever said that artificial cloning of mammals was impossible. Cloning happens naturally with many plants and lower animals, and it's been done artificially with tadpoles since 1951. So cloning mammals is just not something that has ever looked "impossible". (And of course, another problem is that the sentence in the article doesn't specify artificial cloning of mammals, so it's saying that something that occurs naturally was "previously believed to be impossible.") KarlBunker 18:43, 1 March 2006 (UTC)
I can't say that I am familiar with everything that Abraham Maslow wrote, but nothing that I have read of his has anything in common with the proposed use of genetic and other somatic biotechnologies to produce improved humans. Including Maslow because of his use of the term "transhuman" distorts and trivializes the article by conflating the tradition of transcendence and spiritual awareness with the sorts of things Hughes et al. have been promoting. Does anyone think a single critic of Transhumanism in any of the categories below would have a problem with Maslow's philosophy? Why isn't Buddha listed as a transhumanist, then, or Timothy Leary?
If there is no persuasive response to this comment in the next two days I will remove the reference and citations to Maslow.
Additional support to ideas of transhumanism comes from the biological HIDL theory ( PMID 15247073), which states that humans are born with an "exceptionally high load of initial damage", and therefore "even small progress in optimizing the early-developmental processes can potentially result in a remarkable prevention of many diseases in later life, postponement of aging-related morbidity and mortality, and significant extension of healthy life span."
I have removed this text from the Overview section so we can all analyze it and debate whether or not a version of it should be included in the article. -- Loremaster 23:47, 2 March 2006 (UTC)
"HIDL" receives only a single hit on PubMed that refers to the sense of the term in this paragraph. That paper refers to the desirability of "progress in optimizing the early-developmental processes" to avoid the effects of ageing. The latter is so speculative and infeasible given the current state of knowledge in developmental biology as to disqualify it from discussion in the article. -- StN 00:05, 3 March 2006 (UTC)
Once we find sources for the following passages, I think Transhumanism will be ready for feature article candidacy:
1. Geneticist and science writer Steve Jones argues that humanity does not, and never will, have the technology that proponents of transhumanism seek. Jones claims that technologies like human genetic engineering will never be as powerful as is popularly believed.
2. Materialist transhumanists do not believe in a transcendent human soul. They often believe in the compatibility of human minds with computer hardware, with the theoretical implication that human consciousness may someday be transfered to alternative media.
3. Transhumanists concede that predictions of pending technological developments have often been inaccurate or premature. However, they respond that pronouncements that any particular technological advance is "impossible" have also been proven wrong with embarrassing frequency. Artificial cloning of adult mammals has been one of many examples.
As Metamagician pointed out, do we have a source for this? One of the Betterhumans.com columns perhaps? -- Loremaster 23:48, 3 March 2006 (UTC)
I think that the article should include a section on doping and performancing enhancing drugs. I was just reading this article on SI: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/magazine/03/06/growth0313/ . It seems to me that doping is technically within the domain of transhuman philosophy and it should be discussed head on.