The New Man

"But those who have not given up hope can succeed only if they are hardheaded realists, shed all illusions, and fully appreciate the difficulties."

Man has probably been visualizing a 'better' or idealized version of himself since he was capable of appreciating the difference between himself and others. The Templeton Foundation has devoted the June 2008 issue of its online magazine Metanexus to discussing transhumanism. The origin of the word 'transhumanism' is explained in the lead article as having arisen in 1975 and meaning "Man remaining man, but transcending himself, by realizing new possibilities of and for his human nature." At that time the word 'transhumanism' didn't carry the sense of technological dependency that it does today. Today's image of transhumanism is almost entirely focused on extending our potential via technology. But is that the best, or even the most likely, way that man will 'transcend' himself?

It seems to us now that the technological transhumanist vision is inevitable. We live in a time when the idea of bio-implants hardly gives pause for thought. Presumably the nature and capabilities of these implants will continue to grow with time. But does this represent our only hope for 'evolved' man? Is our next evolutionary break destined to be Homo cyberneticus?

It is almost a guarantee that, barring a spectacular environmental disaster or alien intervention, our next evolutionary step will come about as a result of our own efforts to advance science and technology. But what if the search for the secrets of consciousness that would enable Homo cyberneticus turned up something that pushed man in another direction altogether?