Vita-More on Transhumanism

Natasha Vita-More has a new piece in The Scavenger. It’s one of the best summaries of transhumanism I’ve read. A sample:

The sciences and technologies for enhancement are referred to as “NBIC”—nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science.  The topic of enhancement can be divided into three domains: therapeutic enablement (modification), selective enhancement (transition), and radical enhancement (transformation).

Therapeutic enhancement refers to the use of technologies to restore disease and/or injury to normal biological state of existence. The domain of therapeutic modification includes psychopharmacology, neurochemistry, prosthetics, infertility options, organ transplants and implants, stem cell cloning, and neuropharmacology.

Selective enhancement improves the normal state of good health and increases physiological (somatic and cognitive) performance. The technologies in this domain include all but one of the NBIC suite—that of nanotechnology. Selective enhancement currently characterizes the intervention of NBIC to improve the human condition beyond what is considered natural good health for a person.