EOTO #2: Transhumanism

 Transhumanism is an interesting, modern philosophic view. Transhumanists are those who believe that the advancement of technology should be focused on enhancing the human condition. They push for the development of technologies such as LASIK Eye Surgery, hearing aids, or vaccines. Because of how new the transhumanist movement is, negative impacts are yet to be seen but there are many who see potential downfalls such as cost inequality, stagnation after rapid growth, and even dehumanization.

Transhumanism has found ways to appear in pop culture as well, through characters such as Iron Man, Terminator, and Robocop. They are used to demonstrate the potential that transhumanism provides, soldiers in powerful and extremely protective armor, drones keeping military loss of life low, and devices that can help a person breathe, walk, run, or even just live. It sounds like it is entirely fictional but it is entirely feasible and even occurs in the world today. Exoskeletons are being developed to enhance people's mobility, pacemakers help keep a person's heart beating, and even the human brain is being researched for the possibility of moving the consciousness onto a mechanized brain are things that are occurring in our society. 

Many transhumanists would say that the possibilities are endless, but there are many skeptics that see the potential for an end in the progression of technology. If humanity reached a point where our technology was too advanced to reasonably progress any further with the resources we had, where would we go, would we get so advanced that we trade our souls and our freedoms in exchange for some sort of automated immortality, or would we end up losing thousands of years of advancement to greed.