Post- and Transhumanism ― An Introduction

Proclaiming the end of the 500-year history of humanism and its replacement by post-humanism and transhumanism which herald the liberation of man from his own biology, Ranisch and Sorgner cite the relationship between trans- and post-humanism as intricate. They and their contributors explore connections and points of divergence and investigate how post- and transhumanism illuminate the reconsideration of what it means to be human in the context of scientific advancements -- genetics, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, robots, etc. Nineteen chapters are divided into five parts: confessions; lands of Cockaygne; neo-Socratic reflections; ontologies of becoming; paragone of the arts. Chapters are: pedigrees; religion; Prometheus; Nietzsche; utopia; brave new world; life extension; politics; morality; ontology; nature; evolution; the body; bioart; new media art; literature; science fiction literature; movies; music. Annotation c2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Robert Ranisch is a philosopher and Research Associate at the International Centre for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities at the University of Tubingen (Germany).
Stefan Lorenz Sorgner is Director of the Beyond Humanism Network and Fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.