Wikipedia:Today's featured article/June 2, 2006

Cover image of U.S. Government report on transhumanism

Transhumanism is an international intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of new sciences and technologies to enhance human physical and cognitive abilities and ameliorate what it regards as harsh and unnecessary aspects of the human condition, such as disease and aging. Transhumanist academics study the possibilities and consequences of developing and using human enhancement techniques and other emerging technologies for these purposes. Possible dangers, as well as benefits, of powerful new technologies that might radically change the conditions of human life are also of concern to the transhumanist movement. Transhumanist thinkers postulate that human beings will eventually be transformed into beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label "posthuman". Transhumanism's vision of a deeply transformed future humanity has attracted many sympathizers, as well as critics from a wide range of perspectives. Transhumanism has been described by a prominent sympathizer as the "movement that epitomizes the most daring, courageous, imaginative, and idealistic aspirations of humanity," while according to a prominent critic, it is the world's most dangerous idea. (more...)

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