(replying here because the karma system apparently doesn’t allow me to reply in the original subthread)
Standard evolutionary theory. Evolution did not have to take the path it took by any stretch of the imagination.
It could have created a zilion other varieties of bacteria, or rodents, or something else, but I wouldn’t call those things transhumans.
While it is certainly plausible that humans can be improved to some extent using genetic engineering, given the state of the evidence there is no reason to believe that the typical transhumanist fantasies such as extreme lifespans or extreme intelligence will be feasible with this approach.
AI and non-biochemical nanotech are even more speculative technologies.
EDIT:
We can’t really say whether the space of all the possible minds includes something that is substantially different from a human mind and yet be intelligent as much as or even more than a human at things humans do, (and be also manufacturable by humans and not alien enough that humans can’t interact with it in any meaningful way).
Similarly, we can’t say whether the space of all the possible types of chemistries includes something substantially different than biochemistry-as-we-know-it, and yet still capable of sustaining processes and forming structures of complexity and efficiency comparable to our biochemistry, and be compatible with the physical and chemical properties of our environment.
(replying here because the karma system apparently doesn’t allow me to reply in the original subthread)
It could have created a zilion other varieties of bacteria, or rodents, or something else, but I wouldn’t call those things transhumans.
While it is certainly plausible that humans can be improved to some extent using genetic engineering, given the state of the evidence there is no reason to believe that the typical transhumanist fantasies such as extreme lifespans or extreme intelligence will be feasible with this approach.
AI and non-biochemical nanotech are even more speculative technologies.
EDIT:
We can’t really say whether the space of all the possible minds includes something that is substantially different from a human mind and yet be intelligent as much as or even more than a human at things humans do, (and be also manufacturable by humans and not alien enough that humans can’t interact with it in any meaningful way).
Similarly, we can’t say whether the space of all the possible types of chemistries includes something substantially different than biochemistry-as-we-know-it, and yet still capable of sustaining processes and forming structures of complexity and efficiency comparable to our biochemistry, and be compatible with the physical and chemical properties of our environment.