Sex and transhumanism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62229/Keywords:
transhumanism, sex, science, technology, Foucault, HackingAbstract
In this article, the transhumanist project is analyzed through the lens of one of the phenomena characterizing human existence, i.e. sex. The aim of the article is to reconstruct the ontological structure of transhumanism employing the reflection on the phenomenon of sex and, based on this reconstruction, to prepare the conceptual fundament for the most theoretically justified ethical treatment of the transhumanist project. The genealogical studies by Michel Foucault and historical-ontological research by Ian Hacking are used as the theoretical basis and methodological guideline for the analysis carried out in the article. The analysis demonstrates that due to the ontologically ‘mobile’ nature of the main object of transhumanism (the human), transhumanism itself unfolds as a project that is constantly shifting in terms of its purposes and goals. Therefore, transhumanism is a project that cannot be realized in practice in principle. The impossibility of realizing the transhumanist project, consequently provides an ethically engaged treatment thereof. The article is concluded by stating transhumanism to be a nihilistic ideology – or, paradoxically, an ideology without an ideal – which actually does not manifest as the improvement of the human, but only as their perpetual identity and anthropological remaking based on new ever emerging techno-scientific capabilities.References
Bostrom, N. (2003). "The Transhumanist FAQ. A General Introduction (Version 2.1)". Available at https://www.nickbostrom.com/views/transhumanist.pdf last time accessed in 11-11-2022.
Bostrom, N. (2008). "Why I Want to be a Posthuman When I Grow Up." In: Medical Enhancement and Posthumanity, eds. B. Gordijn, R. Chadwik. Springer Science & Business Media, 107–137.
Chitwood, A. (2004). Death by Philosophy: The Biographical Tradition in the Life and Death of the Archaic Philosophers Empedocles, Heraclitus, and Democritus. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
Eede, Y. V. D. (2015). "Where is the Human? Beyond the Enhancement Debate." In Science, Technology, & Human Values 40 (1): 149–162.
Hauskeller, M. (2014). Sex and the Posthuman Condition. London: Palgrave Pivot.
Haylock, S. (2017). "Sexual Liberation and the Emergence of Transhumanism." In Crisis Magazine. Available at https://brownpelicanla.com/sexual-liberation-and-theemergence-of-transhumanism/, last time accessed in 13-11-2022.
Hacking, I. (1999). The Social Construction of What? Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England: Harvard University Press.
Hacking, I. (2007). "Kinds of People: Moving Targets." In Proceedings of the British Academy 151: 285–318.
Hobbes, T. (1965). Leviathan. London: Oxford University Press.
Istvan, Z. (2014). "October 20. The Transhumanist Future of Sex." In Vices. Available at <https://www.vice.com/en/article/ypwn4k/the-transhumanist-future-of-sex>, last time accessed in 13-11-2022.
Markuckas, M. (2022). Transhumanizmo idėja istorinės ontologijos perspektyvoje. Daktaro disertacija. Vilnius: Vilniaus universiteto leidykla.
Mill, S., J. (2009). Utilitarianism. New Zealand, Auckland: The Floating Press.
Foucault, M. (1978). The History of Sexuality (Volume 1: An Introduction). New York: Pantheon Books.
Foucault, M. (2004). The Order of Things: An Archeology of the Human Sciences. London and New York: Routledge.
Philbeck, T. D. (2014). "Ontology". In: Post- and Transhumanism: An Introduction, eds. R. Ranisch, S. L. Sorgner. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 173–184.
Ranisch, R., Sorgner, L. S. (2014). "Introducing Post- and Transhumanism." In: Post- and Transhumanism: An Introduction, eds. R. Ranisch, S. L. Sorgner. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 7–27.
Plato (2004). Republic. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
Schussler, A.-E. (2017). "Pornography in Transhumanism Towards a Sexuality of Singularity." In Postmodern Openings 8(1): 41–56.
Sorgner, L., S. (2015). "Don't We All Wish to be Wonder Woman or Superman?" Youtube. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFbz9zvAqqM, last time accessed in 01-12-2022.
Sorgner, L., S. (2022). We Have Always Been Cyborgs: Digital Data, Gene Technologies, and an Ethics of Transhumanism. UK: Bristol University Press.
Szabados, K. (2018). "Transhumanist Parties as Niche Parties." In Journal of Posthuman Studies 2 (2): 213–237.
Pearlman, A. R., Hsu C., et al. (2005). "Motivations for Physician Assisted Suicide." In Journal of General Internal Medicine 20(3): 234–239.
Rurup, L. M., Pasman R. H., et al. (2011). "Understanding Why Older People Develop a Wish to Die: a Qualitative Interview Study." In Crisis 32(4): 204–216.
Ross, B. D. (2020). The Philosophy of Transhumanism: A Critical Analysis. UK: Emerald Publishing (Kindle ed.).
World Health Organization. (1946 [1948]). Constitution. Available at <https://www.who.int/ about/governance/constitution>, last time accessed in 01-12-2022.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Annals of the University of Bucharest. Phylosophy Series

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.