About
--- To contact the editors of Transhumanity, please write to trans(at)delysid(dot)bltc(dot)net ---
Welcome to Transhumanity! This is a web magazine associated with Humanity Plus (WTA). Please follow the links to the main WTA site and related sites for a detailed analysis of transhumanist ideas. To readers who are new to transhumanist thinking, we wish to propose the following outline:
Transhumanists believe that we should use all available means to improve the human condition. This is nothing new: we have been doing that for ages with fire, farming, steam, bicycles, antibiotics, vaccines, dental prosthesis, cell phones, etc. Transhumanists take this common sense approach to its natural conclusion: we believe that modern science and technology can safely improve the human condition by overcoming natural limits, and that they should be used to this end. So if today, for example, we say yes to therapeutic cloning and cryonics research, tomorrow we will say yes to aging reversal and intelligence enhancement.
In general transhumanism takes a protechnology stance, but insists that our deployment of emerging technologies ought to be done in a critical and ethical manner. New technologies such as nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and artificial intelligence research have associated risks and benefits: used unwisely these technologies could have disastrous consequences for humanity. The risks and benefits of technology issues raise a number of ethical questions. A recent debate over cloning is an example. Humanity Plus (WTA) is in favour of therapeutic "cloning" but has suspended judgement on human reproductive cloning at present because it is not yet demonstrated to be safe.
Of course these few lines cannot be taken as a full overview of transhumanist thinking, and we encourage you to read the sources. At the same time, one of the main objectives of our magazine is to make our ideas more accessible to prospective readers. We plan to achieve this by publishing interesting and readable articles and columns on philosophy, policy, literature, art, science and technology. We will also publish interviews with transhumanist thinkers and interviews with mainstream thinkers on transhumanist ideas as well as offering reviews of topical works summarized in plain English. In our News section we try to identify news and new material on the Web especially relevant from a transhumanist perspective.
Transhumanity is an interactive magazine where readers can, and are encouraged to, post comments to discuss their views. If you wish to use Transhumanity as the forum for a debate on a new topic of your choice, please submit a short overview article for publication as explained in the Submissions page.
Please register by following the link on the menu bar above. By registering you will be able to use the more interactive features of Transhumanity, be notified when others respond to your comments, and subscribe to our mailing list to receive a daily newsletter.
Transhumanity survives thanks to the work of a team of volunteers. We have a few more positions open on the team, and look forward to contact motivated volunteers able to contribute a few hours per week. Please see the page Volunteer for further information
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