Category Archives: Transhumanism

As the world draws closer and closer to the day of Christ's return, the exponential pace of technological change will play an increasing role in the fulfillment of bible prophecy.

The development of technologies such as molecular manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing will trigger abrupt and radical changes in the global economic, social, and geopolitical landscape.

The acceleration and magnitude in development of these powerful technologies will dwarf the Industrial Revolution in size and scale.

Foreseeing such change, the world should note the various social philosophies and political movements which emerged during the Industrial Revolution. Darwinism, Marxism, Communism, Facism, and eugenics all emerged within a few short decades.

While the Industrial Revolution was not absolutely necessary for, nor was the it the cause of, the rise in popularity for each of these movements - it did serve to amplify their influence.

So what small movements might explode in popularity during the next technological revolution?

One possible candidate is the transhumanist movement...

The definition of transhumanism varies depending on who you consult, but here's Wikipedia's take:

"Transhumanism is an international intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of science and technology to improve human mental and physical characteristics and capacities. The movement regards aspects of the human condition, such as disability, suffering, disease, aging, and involuntary death as unnecessary and undesirable. Transhumanists look to biotechnologies and other emerging technologies for these purposes." (Wikipedia)

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Transhumanism - End Times Bible Prophecy

Transhumanism is an emergent school of speculative philosophy analysing or favouring the use of technology, especially neurotechnology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology, to improve the human condition.

The term 'transhumanism' was used by Julian Huxley in 1957, and ideas about concepts of "transhuman" are recognized in various writings. But there is no authentic precursor to the ideas of transhumanism as we know of it today. Even Huxley's definition differs substantially from the one commonly in use since the 1980s. Transhumanism was given its modern definition and characterization by philosopher Dr. Max More: "Transhumanism is a class of philosophies that seek to guide us towards a posthuman condition. Transhumanism shares many elements of humanism, including a respect for reason and science, a commitment to progress, and a valuing of human (or transhuman) existence in this life. [] Transhumanism differs from humanism in recognizing and anticipating the radical alterations in the nature and possibilities of our lives resulting from various sciences and technologies []." [1](http://www.maxmore.com/transhum.htm)

Other definitions of "transhumanism" have been suggested, such as "Transhumanism is the philosophy that we can and should develop to higher levels, physically, mentally and socially using rational methods," by Dr. Anders Sandberg, and "Transhumanism is the idea that new technologies are likely to change the world so much in the next century or two that our descendants will in many ways no longer be 'human'," by Dr. Robin Hanson. Summarising the Transhumanist FAQ (2.1)(http://transhumanism.org/index.php/WTA/faq/), transhumanism is as follows:

Transhumanists generally support emerging technologies, including many that are controversial, such as human genetic engineering, cryonics, and advanced uses of computers and communications; as well as future technologies such as space travel, cloning, nanotechnology, and mind uploading. They often believe that AI will some day surpass human intelligence.

Some believe that the pace of technological development is steadily increasing, leading many forward-thinkers to speculate that the next 50 years will yield remarkable and radical technological advancements. Transhumanism maintains that this is desirable and that humans can and should become more than human through the application of technological innovations as genetic engineering, nanotechnology, neuropharmaceuticals, prosthetic enhancements, and mind-machine interfaces (see Human Cognome Project).

Following in the tradition of Enlightenment-influenced 19th century political, moral and philosophical thought, transhumanism seeks to build upon the global knowledge base for the betterment of all humankind.

Derived in part from the philosophical traditions of secular humanism, transhumanism asserts that humans should be viewed as the "center" of the moral universe, and that there are no 'supernatural' forces that guide humanity. While largely a grassroots and broadly based movement, transhumanism does tend toward rational arguments and empirical observations of natural phenomena; in many respects, transhumanists partake in a culture of science and reason, and are guided by life-promoting principles and values.

Specifically, transhumanism seeks to apply reason, science and technology for the purposes of reducing poverty, disease, disability, malnutrition and oppressive governments around the globe. Many transhumanists actively assess the potential for future technologies and innovative social systems to improve quality of all life, while seeking to make the material reality of the human condition fulfill the promise of legal and political equality by eliminating congenital mental and physical barriers.

Transhumanism argues that there exists an ethical imperative for humans to strive for progress and improvement (see Perfectionism). If humanity enters into a post-Darwinian phase of existence in which humans are in control of evolution, random mutations will be replaced with rationally, morally and ethically guided change.

To this end, transhumanists engage in interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and evaluating possibilities for overcoming biological limitations. This includes the use of the various fields and subfields of science, philosophy, economics and natural and sociological history.

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Transhumanism - Definition | WordIQ.com

Civilization made a strategy game of humanity's past. Now it's looking to humanity's future.

Everyone who has played a game in the Civilization series remembers seeing their country nuked by Mahatma Ghandi. In this historical strategy series, players attempt to guide a nation through the ages from its humble beginning to its role as a globe-spanning superpower. Anything can happen along the way, including being irradiated by one of history's greatest peacemakers.

After five instalments in a series that attempts to capture the spirit of humanity's ascent from darkness, developer Firaxis has announced an unexpected follow-up. Instead of beginning in the dirt and building to the heavens, Civilization: Beyond Earth begins with a voyage in the sky, one that will send colonists to begin anew in another star system. Slated for release on PC, Mac and Linux this fall, Beyond Earth surely will remind fans of Firaxis' 1999 classic space exploration game Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, although the developer seems eager to distance itself from that comparison.

While the gameplay mechanics will be similar to the previous Civilization games, this time you're not a human in a predictable human world. You're an alien on an alien planet. You don't know this place, nor do you belong here.

"You start out and you're all alone," said Dennis Shirk, a producer of the series. "So you've got to learn everything all over again."

Interstellar Oregon Trail In the game's fiction, humanity has endured some rough times on Earth due to an ambiguous event known as The Great Mistake. We survived but were greatly hobbled, and Earth just wasn't the same anymore. As civilisation recovered, we sent our best and brightest to create a new home.

This is where you come in.

The game begins with something Firaxis likens to "interstellar Oregon Trail." Ordinarily in a Civilization game, you select your leader from a series of historically-based archetypes like Genghis Khan or Hiawatha. But since Beyond Earth takes place in the future, the player is given more freedom to affect how events play out.

That begins as you select not only a leader whose disposition will affect your Civilization forever, but also which culture your ship will launch from, what types of colonists you'll bring, and what type of ship you'll launch. From that point on, how the future plays out is up to you.

"A lot of our pre-production was spent looking at futurist writers, and looking into transhumanism and post-humanism," said Anton Springer, one of the designers. "Not just science fiction writers, but scientists talking about where humanity is going. We're leaving that answer in the hands of the players."

Read more:

Next Civilization game abandons Earth for the stars

According to the World War II-era nautical lore, the Navy wanted sailors that could see IR signals. To this end volunteers were fed a diet that was missing the form of vitamin A normally used to make photopigments for our visual system. They were instead given supplements of an alternate form of the vitamin that gave sensitivity into the IR spectrum. While invention of the sniperscope brought these dubious experiments to a premature close, a group of biohackers has been inspired to pick up right where the early transhumanist pioneers left off.

Eyes are remarkably adaptable machines. Animals have morphed them into exotic polarization sensors, magnetic field orienteering aids, and even single photon detectors. An interesting anecdote from the astronautical lore is that flashes of light generally attributed to cosmic rays have been perceived by astronauts even with their eyes were closed. While it is possible that these figments are triggered in the brain, it seems more likely that the retina, perhaps even the photopigments themselves, are directly sensing energy deposited by the rays and realizing it as light. With the right photopigment, seamless detection of IR should be a piece of cake.

The only problem is that lack of vitamin A claims the lives of around a million children worldwide each year, and it is responsible for blindness in half that again. Anintrepid group of four biohackers hope that the replacement form of vitamin A, known as vitamin A2, will compensate completely. A2 is found in freshwater fish, and can be extracted (with some effort) from their livers. The group has created a project based on a Microryza crowdfunding model, and is now funded to the tune of $4,000. (Read: Seeing ultraviolet, exploring color.)

This is what our intrepid senior editor, Sebastian Anthony, looks like with thermal IR.

Much of the capital raised will be used to procure the vitamin itself. Additionally there will be funds for sensitive equipment to measure the electrical responses of the eye as its spectral sensitivity changes. Their results will be published in an open, peer-reviewed research journal. The diet the biohackers will use has been developed by computer engineer Rob Rhinehart, creator of a successful life-optimizing drink known as Soylent. Crowdfunded itself, Soylent also enjoys high-profile backing from venture capitalists like Andreessen Horowitz.

Vitamin A, and its precursors like beta-carotene, are metabolized into different forms that are used in various ways all throughout the body. Its ability to melt wrinkles or pimples when applied to the skin hints at its powers once inside a cells nucleus, where it has its main effects. The kicker in prescription drug Accutane is a vitamin A derivative called retinoic acid. This acid is actually the go molecule used in a developing embryo when it begins to push out the upper limb buds. Retinoic acid is a master regulator molecule that turns on other genes to get the bits and pieces of the arm just right.

The Milky Way, as seen by NASAs infrared Spitzer telescope. I doubt it would look like this with biohacked eyes, but its nice to dream

If you arent scared yet, consider one more thing: vitamin A deprived rats developed hypogonadism (reduced gonad functionality). This happened even when they were fed the retinoic acid that is needed by the testes because they are actually a bit pickier than that they need locally-synthesized retinoic acid to actually do the trick. The good news is that inhibiting retinoic acid makes a wonderful birth control in humans, and that has even been promoted as a male contraceptive. One further word of caution is in order. While the body can in fact metabolize the fishy A2 vitamin form, the proteins that transport it through cell membranes are only one-quarter as efficient at binding and taking up the A2 form.

Researchers sometimes seem to be motivated by fame and glory as much as by science. There may be a hint of that here, but transhumanists see themselves more as individual medical explorers than as medical trials guinea pigs with no control over their fate. (Read: What is transhumanism, or, what does it mean to be human?)That being said, one indication that times are tough in the academic research arena is the recent report of the guy who published a study of the absolute worst places to be stung, in descending order with himself as the subject. While there may be some value in research like that, it reminds one of the guy who ate a bicycle just to get into the Guinness book of World records. Fortunately for him, Guinness published it, but only with a note saying this will be the last time for things like that.

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Intrepid biohacker gives himself infrared night vision, but at what price?

In a landmark study sure to provoke interest, researchers from the University of Edinburgh have regenerated an aged organ in vivo, inside a living animal to its youthful state though noninvasive manipulation of genes. Its a breakthrough that not only brings hope for a wide variety of age-related ailments, but which fundamentally challenges our idea of what aging is. This study treats the natural impacts of of time like symptoms of a disease and by treating those symptoms it seems to have tracked the cells back to their pre-disease (youthful) state.

The organ in question is the thymus, a small immune node that sits near the heart. It produces T-cells, one of the bodys most important immune response units, but over the course of a lifetime the thymus shrinks and T-cell production slows. This is thought to be one big reason (one of many) that elderly people suffer decreased immune response relative to younger people. This study used1- and 2-year old mice, and saw the typical drop in both thymus size and T-cell production with age.

The thymus is one of the most important parts of the immune system, especially in younger people.

Prior research had already identified a protein called FOXN1 as likely linked to thymus degeneration; its expression levels in the thymus seem linked to that organs fate. The mice in this study were bred with a specific genetic sensitivity, however, so that when exposed to the drug tamoxifen they would begin producing fully youthful levels of FOXN1, regardless of their actual age. It should be pointed out that the fact that these were genetically engineered mice is more crucial to the experimental setup than the therapeutic one; without the need to control for variables, scientists could plausibly increase FOXN1 levels through less convoluted measures.

The results? Mutant mice treated with tamoxifen showed total or near-total regeneration of their youthful thymus, while control mice also given tamoxifen showed predictable thymus function for their age. This held true for both the size of the organ itself and the abundance of the T-cells it produces. The regeneration seems to arise from the fact that FOXN1 is a transcription factor that controls expression of several other genes, and that these genes activate stem cell-like action in some thymus cells. By restoring FOXN1 levels, the researchers seem to have convinced the thymus to de-age itself at least, in this one very specific way.[DOI:10.1242/dev.103614]

The researchers are quick to point out the possible benefits to elderly people, or those afflicted by immune diseases. Increasing the ability to fight infection could also revolutionize hospital medicine, helping vulnerable patients fight infection by overclocking the thymus to produce a boost of white blood cells. Restoring the immune response of sick and elderly people would be, without an ounce of hyperbole, one of the most important medical advances in all of human history.

A separate study found that improper FOXN1 function causes a wasting immune disease. Sad

But this study is a far cry from proof that such utility could actually exist. If nothing else, it stands as an uncomfortable challenge to our ideas about just what agingis. Has the thymus really been regenerated or is it simply bigger and more active than it used to be?We do have a few relatively non-arbitrary measures of cell age, in particular measurements of telomere decay. Telomeres are long stretches of inactive DNA that cap our chromosomes on either end, and which seem to fray and shorten as cells live and replicate. A functional regeneration such as this one, coupled with genetic implants to re-lengthen telomeres and undo other sources of aging damage, could be difficult to distinguish from literal reversal of the aging process. (Read:What is transhumanism, or, what does it mean to be human?)

Thats a long way out, however. In the extreme long term, patchwork replacement of organs and body parts is even prophesied to allow immortality, and this study shows that we might be able to supplement grown organs with regenerated ones. Theres no telling how many tissues might be usefully regenerated with such a simple molecular switch but theres also currently no telling if these regenerated thymuses will continue to function well, or if such manipulation could cause unintended side-effects.

A lot more research is needed before human applications could even be discussed, but its an enticing goal. Any tool that could maintain the bodys own immune system could end up saving both lives and healthcare costs immensely of course, as weve discussed previously though, there could be some massive problems if we all start living to 100 or more.

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Gene therapy successfully regenerates an old organ inside a living animal