How about a cyborg whose arm unscrews? Is he not augmented? Most of a cochlear implant can be removed. Nothing about trans-humanism says your augmentations have to be permanently attached to your body. You need only want to improve yourself and your abilities, which a robot suit of that caliber definitely accomplishes.
And, yes, obviously transhumanism is defined relative to historical context. If everyone’s doing it, you don’t need to have a word for it. That we have a word implies that transhumanists are looking ahead, and looking for things that not everyone has yet. So, no, your car doesn’t make you a trans-humanist, but a robotic exoskeleton might be evidence of that philosophy.
It depends. If a person loses an arm and gets a mechanical prosthesis to restore normal functioning, that isn’t transhumanist. If they get a prosthesis because they want to be super strong (or whatever), that is transhumanist.
That we have a word implies that transhumanists are looking ahead, and looking for things that not everyone has yet.
Transhumanism isn’t about any technology, it specifically refers to augmentation of humans themselves.
If it functions normally then it’s a little bit transhumanist, because there might be advantages to having limbs you can detach if you want to. Also, mechanical limbs are more easily replaced and wouldn’t require food to maintain.
This is reminding me of Manny’s assortment of arms for different purposes in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress—they aren’t the center of the story, they’re almost a cool background detail.
And then there’s the waldos in Heinlein’s “Waldo”—arms of various sizes which mimic the movements of the user. I’m a bit surprised that they don’t exist already, but a casual search suggests that they don’t.
This conversation sounds a little bit to me like the conversation in disputing definitions.
Taboo transhumanism or something, perhaps? I think that these superheroes count as significant positive change at least, one of the things NancyLebovitz described in the title post.
How about a cyborg whose arm unscrews? Is he not augmented? Most of a cochlear implant can be removed. Nothing about trans-humanism says your augmentations have to be permanently attached to your body. You need only want to improve yourself and your abilities, which a robot suit of that caliber definitely accomplishes.
And, yes, obviously transhumanism is defined relative to historical context. If everyone’s doing it, you don’t need to have a word for it. That we have a word implies that transhumanists are looking ahead, and looking for things that not everyone has yet. So, no, your car doesn’t make you a trans-humanist, but a robotic exoskeleton might be evidence of that philosophy.
It depends. If a person loses an arm and gets a mechanical prosthesis to restore normal functioning, that isn’t transhumanist. If they get a prosthesis because they want to be super strong (or whatever), that is transhumanist.
Transhumanism isn’t about any technology, it specifically refers to augmentation of humans themselves.
If it functions normally then it’s a little bit transhumanist, because there might be advantages to having limbs you can detach if you want to. Also, mechanical limbs are more easily replaced and wouldn’t require food to maintain.
This is reminding me of Manny’s assortment of arms for different purposes in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress—they aren’t the center of the story, they’re almost a cool background detail.
And then there’s the waldos in Heinlein’s “Waldo”—arms of various sizes which mimic the movements of the user. I’m a bit surprised that they don’t exist already, but a casual search suggests that they don’t.
This conversation sounds a little bit to me like the conversation in disputing definitions.
Taboo transhumanism or something, perhaps? I think that these superheroes count as significant positive change at least, one of the things NancyLebovitz described in the title post.
Sure. I think we just have different definitions of the term. Not much to be gained here.