Humankind and a Transhumanist Future
Transhumanism is a school of evolutionary thought that believes human beings are now in a position to determine the course of their future evolution by use of augmented body parts and genetic engineering. They believe that through the use of these patently human advantages, we may take humanity in a direction of our choosing and not be subject to the unpredictability of natural selection.
Before I go into a lengthy explanation of why this is not necessarily the best of ideas, let me write a little about the way evolution works.
It is a game that two players play. One player is you, the species. The other is your environment. You change your environment in small ways and your environment changes you in small ways. For the most part, the impact a species has on its surroundings is in sync with the kind of changes the environment can take. For example, a caterpillar eats leaves and seems to destroy the environment but it is something that is, in a manner of speaking, accounted for. The caterpillar is actually one of the many ways nature uses to keep the balance. The caterpillar and nature serve each other.
If the caterpillar started believing that nature was holding it back from becoming all that it can, it might start thinking of doing things that transhumanists are thinking of doing. It might think that if it becomes capable of eating and digesting soil, it will not have to rely on nature's supply of leaves. It might decide to create artificial leaves in labs to fulfill its needs. It might even decide that it has no need for hunger and go for the elimination of the need to eat.
There is nothing wrong with transhumanist thinking. On the whole, human beings are no different from caterpillars. We consume our surroundings and our surroundings consume us. We put some effort into preventing being consumed by our surroundings of course. We fight against our natural lifespans, we resist forces of nature, we cut through things that are in our way. In addition, we also spend time feeling guilty about all this and berating ourselves for not being more like the lovable caterpillar.
Transhumanism is the other end of this spectrum. It believes that human beings occupy a special space in the order of things — one that allows them to transcend the boundaries set by nature, perhaps even deny that these boundaries exist.
But let us consider transhumanist thought for a while.
We change as a result of evolution because we are subject to pressures from our environment. This pressure fuels mutations and over the course of generations, we become something we are not right now. Evolution moulds us into shapes better suited to survival. But it is still a moulding force. It applies pressure and it hurts. Many die before those worthy of survival come into being. The human species may be making the mistake of seeing this creative pressure as a destroying force. Evolution brings death yes, but it also brings necessary change.
When transhumanists talk of placing the human species out of death's reach, what they are essentially talking about is ending evolution's grasp on us.
Now consider this. Perhaps it is not possible to do beat death. But if it were possible, how advisable would it be to do so?
Imagine that in the future, the human species has somehow managed to prolong its lifespan and become practically immortal. Death is no longer a part of the human equation. In this future, evolution by natural selection still works on other animals and plants, but not on us. We would have effectively created a bubble that separates us from all that is out there.
This would mean that the “out there” no longer plays a part in our lives. The changes that happen to human beings no longer happen because nature chose them. They happen because we choose them.
This appears to be empowerment until you start wondering: On what basis are the changes are being chosen? What are our criteria for deciding what enhancements are good for human beings and which ones we should not go for? In other words, given complete freedom to choose any evolutionary direction, which one would we take?
Taking charge of one's evolutionary path sounds like a good idea until one realises that it is not a matter of simplifying the existing equation. It is about creating a whole new equation.
Are we making humankind stronger by augmenting our bodies with artificial enhancements as a matter of standard procedure? If, at some point in the future, the Earth begins to suffer regular electro-magnetic pulses from outer space, it could mean crippling the entire population.
Are we working towards a better future for humankind by giving everyone increased physical and mental capacities? What form would these capacities take? How do we decide which genetic factor is of most value to humanity?
In short, if we take upon ourselves the mammoth task of doing what natural selection has been doing for ages, will we be able to do it justice? Do we even know what “doing it justice” means?
The bubble that we surround ourselves with will have to be absolute. Once we make the conscious decision to stop being participants in natural selection, we will also become extremely vulnerable to the pressures that nature exerts upon all creatures. The resistance we have built against these pressures will be one of the first things to go out the window when we take the proverbial reins into our own hands.
Of course, no technology we have right now allows us to remove ourselves completely from the forces that nature exerts on humanity. So what I am worrying about may very well never come to pass. But in the event that it does and we do come face-to-face with these decisions, we had better start paying them attention right now.
Evolution by natural selection is actually a rather random process. Any unhappiness we might have as a result of it is therefore somewhat like being angry at the sky gods for the bad weather. By saying evolution is doing us good or bad, we are assigning moral qualities to a natural process that does not give a damn either way. And when, under the impression that humanity needs to be protected from the evolutionary storm, we take action against these natural influences, we engage in something patently adolescent. It is like creating an imaginary friend to battle an imaginary enemy.