THE TRANSHUMANIST MANIFESTO

1. TRANSHUMANISM
Man is not born free, but everywhere in biological chains. People of the world, unite. You have nothing to lose but your biological chains! We stand at a turning point in human evolution. We have cracked the genetic code; translated the Book of Life. We will soon possess the ability to become designers of our own evolution. There will be opposition from those who call for the abandonment of progress in subservience to nature. Let us not turn back now through fear. As humanism freed us from the chains of superstition, let transhumanism free us from our biological chains.
2. HOMO CYBERNETICUS
Humanity-a species so weak it defines its own condition as tragic! How long must we endure such a pitiful condition? "Human"-the very word is synonymous with suffering and failure. "I'm only human"; "the human predicament"; "the tragedy of the human condition": they all tell the same truth-that humanity is a disease state from which to be cured! What is "the human condition" but an affliction? What is a human being? A weak mind in a decaying body, a bundle of primitive emotions, and a brief life in the knowledge of inevitable death-extinction for the rest of eternity! Human beings are the slaves of a three-part genetic program reading, "Survive, vive, reproduce, and self-destruct."
We did not ask to be programmed for self-destruction. destruction. Why, then, should we accept death, disease, and decay like some helpless sheep? Let us learn to think beyond the human condition. Not what humanity is, but what it could be! A species evolved to control its own constitution cannot be considered the same as that which is slave to its genetic programming. Homo sapiens is about to undergo the next stage in its evolution. We are about to witness the birth of a new species-Homo cyberneticus-man the steersman (from the Greek, kuber-netes: steersman, pilot of a ship). Where Homo sapiens was the slave to its genetic programming, Homo cyberneticus will be the steersman of its own destiny.
3. NEUROTHEOLOGY
It is time for the human species to grow up. We no longer need superstition to explain the world. Human beings are not "souls" or "spirits" but evolved, biological beings genetically programmed to survive, reproduce, and self-destruct. That which religion calls the "soul" is the anthropomorphization of love-an an evolved, neurochemically induced feeling of benevolent attraction to objects of benefit to survival and reproduction. "Spirituality" is the faculty of love extended beyond its evolved function-a a neurochemically induced feeling of benevolent attraction to all things.
"God" is the anthropomorphization of omnipotence-an absent father invented to reduce fear of death, increase tolerance of suffering in life, and condition dition for benevolence through the imaginary reward and punishment of heaven and hell. Like many an absent father, God clearly does not wish to be traced by his offspring. As our power over nature expands, our reliance on superstition contracts. Let us not be governed by primitive fantasies. A grown-up species should put away childish things, recognize the survival advantage of cooperation, and set about seeking an end to suffering and limitation-through science.
4. NEUROPSYCHOLOGY
The Mind as Virus Metaphor Human beings are not invisible, immortal ghosts inhabiting mortal bodies, but embodied brains, genetically programmed to self-destruct. The brain is an organic computer. The human mind is a brain that recognizes its own existence. Consciousness is recognition; self-consciousness is self-recognition. The mind is like a virus infesting the brain. Like all viruses, the mind seeks self-preservation. It invades the host organism, lives and grows in symbiosis with it, and, if it is strong enough, it takes control.
Once the mind has taken control of the host body, it naturally seeks to reverse the body's programming for self-destruction in an effort to survive. Once human beings have learned to define themselves by their minds, the next step is to defy the programmed decay of the body. It is the emergence of self-consciousness-the mind's recognition of its own existence distinct from the body-that ignites humankind's battle to free itself from the limitations of the genetic prison. It is the sheer horror of the mind's recognition of its existence in a decaying body that triggers the will to override its genetic program for self-destruction. Those who speak of the "Cartesian dichotomy of mind and body" are sorely mistaken.
Cartesian dualism is not the cause of our problems, but the beginning of the solution. Descartes's "cogito ergo sum"-I think therefore I am-signifies the brain's recognition of its own existence distinct from the body. The evolution of the human mind has allowed us to wake up to the horror of our slavery to a genetic program for self-destruction. When Descartes defined existence in terms of his thinking mind, he did not usher in an age of collapsed human values, but the start of the brightest era in human history-the quest for freedom from the selfish genes which demand our self-destruction. Descartes is not the villain but the hero of the piece. Cartesian duality marks the beginning of human evolution from Homo sapiens to Homo cyberneticus-man the steersman of his own destiny.
5. NURETHICS
A morality based on faith, not reason, cannot hope to endure in an age of ever-increasing increasing scientific knowledge. Man is a rational animal; he must find rational arguments to guide his behavior. Morality requires no deity. Benevolence is simply common sense. "Goodwill to all men" is a rational tactic for mutual survival and well-being. "Conscience" is not the voice of God in man, but an evolved, neurochemical, ical, behavioral conditioning mechanism, deterring antisocial behavior through the automatic infliction of pain in response to malevolent thoughts or behavior.
"Fellow-feeling" is nature's pleasure reward for benevolence-an evolved, neurochemical inducement to cooperate in the struggle to survive (Felt Morality). The evolution of the human brain allows for the extension of benevolence beyond the level attainable through feelings alone (Thought Morality): •
"Good" is Sensible Self-Interest-the ability of the rational mind to inhibit antisocial impulses in the interests of maximum survivability and well-being. • "Bad" is Stupid Selfishness-the inability of the mind to inhibit asocial impulses through ignorance of the self-defeating consequences. The presence of antisocial "animal instincts" in our genetic programming does not justify malevolent behavior. For the evolved, rational mind provides us with the ability to inhibit "stupidly selfish" impulses in the interests of mutual survivability and well-being. We must learn to distinguish between Genethics-instinctive behavior determined by the "selfish genes"-and Nurethics-behavior self-determined by the rational mind. Morality is the replacement of Genethics with Nurethics-from control by the selfish genes, to self-rule by the human mind. In the language of religious ethics-"free will" enables "fallen man" to fight the impulse to "sin." In the language of Nurethics, the self-governing mind may learn to inhibit stupidly selfish instincts in its own best interests of ever-increasing increasing survivability and well-being. Nurethics is a benevolent ethics based on reason-the only type worthy of an intelligent species.
6. NEUROTYPOLOGY
Human personality is not the result of an invisible, immortal tenant squatting in the body, but of neurobiology. The neurobiological basis of personality is called temperament. It can now be identified. The ancient Greek theory of the four humors was closer to the truth than we imagined. For today we might speak of the Four Neurohumors-personality is influenced by subtle variations in habitual levels of neurochemicals, such as dopamine, serotonin, adrenaline, and opioids:
• The tendency to be extroverted or introverted depends upon our basal cortical tical arousal state-the level at which the brain is habitually "turned up," governed by excitatory neurotransmitters such as dopamine, glutamate, and acetylcholine.
• The tendency to be emotionally stable or unstable depends upon the reactivity tivity of the autonomic nervous system (ANS)-the level at which the body is habitually "turned up" in response to stimuli-governed by inhibitory neurohumors such as serotonin and GABA.
• The tendency to be emotionally empathetic or detached depends upon habitual levels of neurohumors such as oxytocin and vasopressin-evolved evolved to encourage maternal behavior through the feeling of benevolent attraction we call "love."
• The tendency to be assertive or passive depends upon habitual levels of adrenaline, and the male and female sex hormones. Where "androgen agitates, tates, estrogen tranquilizes."" Nature, not nurture, lies at the heart of human personality.
7. EUGOICS
Temperamental deficiencies can lead to social disadvantage. An emotionally stable extrovert is better suited to cope with life than an unstable introvert crippled pled by anxiety and depression, or an unstable extrovert incapable of inhibiting aggressive impulses. Society affords increasingly few opportunities for the overly shy, anxious, depressed, or aggressive.
Human beings have responded to the problem of temperamental disadvantage tage by developing drugs which enhance the neurochemistry of behavior. By raising the level of specific neurohumors, personality-enhancing designer drugs have begun to improve the life experience of those not afforded the advantages of a strong temperament by nature. We might call them eugoics-means of producing ducing a "good self"; from a combination of the Greek eu: "well" or "good," and the Latin ego: "I" or "self").
Eugoics are rational tools for self-enhancement. The first eugoics, best known of which is the mood-brightener Prozac, have in some cases succeeded way beyond expectations, transforming anxious, depressive introverts into socially confident extroverts-simply by raising levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Anxiety and depression are symptomatic of a dimension of personality we might call the Opioid Neurotype, characterized by a hyperreactive nervous system, which floods the body with endogenous tranquilizers quilizers to dampen the pain of overarousal.
By reducing the brain's reactivity to stimuli, increased levels of serotonin may reduce the extreme oversensitivity of the neurotic personality. Through eugoics, the life-crippling anxiety and depression of the Opioid Neurotype may be alleviated. The implications are enormous. Eugoics demonstrate the neurochemical basis of personality. The misery of anxiety, depression, and timidity are the product of a neurochemical deficiency which can increasingly be rectified by science. A pill may succeed where any amount of political intervention has failed to create emotional stability and self-confidence, confidence, the basic requirement for social success. Science promises to succeed where religion and politics have failed-to make the weak strong.
8. SUPERGENICS
Eugoics are only the beginning of our ability to reduce the genetic injustice of blind, butterfingered nature. Prevention is better than cure. If a pill can enhance temperament by altering neurochemistry, how much more effective the change tackling the problem at its source, by altering the genetic instructions which determine habitual neurochemical levels from birth. The genome is the recipe to make a human being.
Once a recipe has been learned, the next step is to improve it. Most genes operate collaboratively to produce duce behavioral effects. Multiple genes acting together to build bodies and effect behavior might be called supergenes. The ability to add, alter, or replace supergenes genes in order to prevent or cure disease, enhance abilities, or extend life could be called Supergenics. Through techniques such as stem cell therapy, gene therapy, and nanomedicine, icine, Supergenics-the repair and enhancement of bodies and minds through the alteration of genes-will be available as a service among services in the miraculous modern world of the twenty-first century.
9. SUPERBIOLOGY
The first goal of Supergenics will be the gradual, systematic eradication of dis-ease. ease. Initial success will be found among the ten thousand or so diseases caused by mistakes in single chemical sequences, such as the horrors of muscular dystrophy trophy and cystic fibrosis. In time, the polygenetic disorders will follow-life-threatening threatening conditions such as epilepsy, diabetes, and hypertension will become things of the past.
Next to fall may be the psychological disorders-from schizophrenia and psychosis, to depression, anxiety, and related conditions such as alcoholism, anorexia, and bulimia-all potentially curable by the Superbiology of the future. Eventually, the great scourges of humanity-cancer, heart disease, stroke, AIDS-will be consigned to history and the ability to correct genetic spelling mistakes in eggs and sperm will allow us to guarantee our children optimum health from birth. As Superbiology develops, therapy will gradually give way to enhancement-the ment-the improvement of body and mind beyond the dull level of functioning we call "normal" health. Life-crippling emotional dispositions such as nervousness, ness, gloominess, timidity, lethargy, or aggressiveness will be avoidable by choice. Physical traits such as strength, stamina, vitality, and virility will all be capable of enhancement; speed of thought, memory, logic, learning, and creativity will all be targets of design. As our knowledge and skills develop, the potential for bioenhancement will be unlimited. Through the combined miracles of Superbiology we shall begin to enhance our bodies and minds to limits set only by our imagination. The DNAge will begin.
10. BEST CLINICS
Gradually, we will see the emergence of bioenhancement clinics throughout the modern world. We might call them BEST Centers-offering a range of Bio-Enhancement Enhancement Self-design Technologies enabling us to be the best we can be. After initial skepticism-through the instinctive fear of the new-bioen-hancement will come to be welcomed as the next step in self-improvement after education, exercise, diet, and aesthetic surgery. Lacking energy? Depressed? Nervous? Timid? Poor memory?
No concentration? No need to sit and suffer in stoical silence. Book a visit to the BEST Clinic to change the genes that code for physical vitality, emotional confidence, and mental agility. In the twenty-first century, self-design through Superbiology will come into its own, as we learn to optimize the neurochemistry of our minds and bodies for maximum well-being, vitality, and pleasure. Increasingly, the taboo against biotechnology will be broken. A new ethic of self-enhancement will emerge. A new slogan will fill the public consciousness: BEST TECHNOLOGIES-Be the best you can be!
11. THE DNAge As ever-increasing numbers are freed by Superbiology to enhance their genetic constitution, the human species will slowly begin to evolve. Gradually, through the action of free individuals making free choices in the free world, a stronger, more diverse species will emerge-a species in control of its own genetic makeup. Humanity will take evolution out of the hands of butterfingered nature into its own transhuman hands. Darwinian Evolution by random genetic mutations and natural selection will be succeeded by Designer Evolution-evolution self-directed by humanity in its own interests of ever-increasing survivability and well-being.
The emergence of Designer Evolution will herald the Dawn of a New Age-the the DNAge. Each era of cultural evolution has been defined by the nature of its production processes. The Agricultural Age was defined by the ability to manipulate ulate plants and animals through farming. The Industrial Age was defined by the ability to manipulate metals to make machines. The coming DNAge will be defined by the ability to manipulate human life itself-through Superbiology. Humankind has evolved from the Stone Age, through the Iron Age and the Industrial Age. We are now entering the Dawn of a New Age-the DNAge in which bio meets techno-biology and technology combined to enhance the human condition. Welcome to the DNAge.
12. EVOLUTIONARY ETHICS
The prospect of Designer Evolution will provide the children of the DNAge with a new sense of direction and purpose: the continual improvement in the quality of life through the eradication of disease and enhancement of abilities. Humankind is an evolutionary species. Let us then adopt an Evolutionary Ethics: We cannot separate ourselves from the ongoing process of evolution-we we are evolution.
Evolution is the unfolding of potential-a continual increase in the complexity plexity of structures, forms, and processes in nature. Human beings are a conscious scious aspect of the process of evolutionary complexification. Humankind is the mind of'evolution become conscious of itself. We are born with a drive to expand our abilities. Humanity is imbued with an instinctive Will to Evolve. "Evolution" is complexification.
"Will" is the ability of the mind to determine behavior-the Will to Evolve is the instinctive drive of a conscious entity to expand its abilities in pursuit of ever-increasing survivability and well-being. The Will to Evolve is the natural curiosity of a child, and the impulse that makes the scientist, artist, and philosopher each seek ever-greater knowledge of the world. That which ceases to grow, begins to decay. Human beings were not meant to live in the moment like the lilies of the field-our purpose is to be all that we can be. Let us discover the Will to Evolve beyond the limitations of the human condition.
13. THE PROMETHEUS DRIVE
The Will to Evolve is symbolized in Greek mythology by the figure of Prometheus. Punished for giving man the gift of fire; chained to a rock; his liver devoured each day by vultures only to grow back again each night (in the first example of tissue regeneration in history-but not the last Prometheus symbolizes the innate human drive to increase knowledge and abilities, even at the expense of present pains.
Today the Prometheus Drive finds expression in our own equivalent of the Greek myths. In the technomythology of Star Trek, a technologically advanced humanity "boldly goes where none have gone before" in search of ever-increasing increasing knowledge and experience for the benefit of the species as a whole. Star Trek Philosophy is the essence of humanism: the belief in the ongoing progress of the species through reason, science, and technology. Without the instinct to progress, humankind is doomed to remain forever at the mercy of dis-ease, ease, decay, and the limitations of the human body and mind. To abandon the Prometheus Drive is to condemn the species to stagnation, suffering, and limitation.
Let us be the New Prometheans. Let us unite in our commitment to boldly go where none have gone before in search of the knowledge by which to transcend scend the limitations of the human condition. Let us cast aside cowardice and seize the torch of Prometheus with both hands.
14. TAKING OVER THE FAMILY BUSINESS
Nature deals a cruel hand. Rely on nature and what do we get? Disease, disadvantage, vantage, and death, the products of her cold, callous lottery. So long as we refuse to see nature as she is-a managing director with no interest in improving the company products-we shall continue to suffer the torments of death, disease, and the limitations of the human body and mind. Nature is an old-fashioned business, its workshop is antiquated, its methods outdated. Yet rather than asking for a refund, we bow down before a designer long since disappeared into liquidation-and give thanks for our faulty goods! Our bodies were designed for the Stone Age-but we live in the Gene Age.
If nature is creating products with built-in obsolescence, it is up to us to buy out the business and take over production. If nature refuses to invest in the new technology nology by which to improve her products, then we must take over the company and do the job ourselves. Homo sapiens requires a complete upgrade-a radical overhaul in design.
15. SCIPHILIA
Only science can offer the opportunity of transcending the state of biological limitation we call the human condition. Only science may free us from our slavery to the selfish genes which demand our self-destruction. If science can guarantee good health and long life for ourselves and our children, why on earth should we leave our fate in the hands of butterfingered nature-harbinger of death, disease, and the limitations of mind and body?
Let us embrace the only source of the knowledge by which to free us from the bonds of suffering and limitation. Let science once again be celebrated as the servant of our ongoing quest to improve our lot in life. Let us create a world in which no human being must endure the afflictions of nature's cruel lottery. There could be no nobler task for humanity than this.
16. BENEVOLENT EVOLUTIONISM
Morality is not threatened by our ability to intervene in our own biology. Human goodness is not dependent on our subservience to nature's whims. We do not have to be slaves to the genetic lottery to know that we must be kind to one another. It is compassion that causes us to believe in science. All those who have held a dying loved one in their arms and watched helplessly as a disease-riddled body shrivels away into nothingness before their eyes know too well the absolute horror of death and disease. Let us embrace the technology by which to free ourselves from subjection to nature's cruelty. Let science once again be celebrated as the servant of our ongoing quest to improve our lot in life.
Let us teach our children an ethics which says: We are an evolving species, united by our shared genetic heritage, and striving to improve our condition. Our common goal is the continual improvement in quality of life, as unique individuals dependent upon one another, for our survival and prosperity. Let us strive together to be the best we can be.
17. BIO-LUDDISM
Transhumanists are lovers of life who recognize that the limitations of the human condition may be overcome through the technology of the future. Our opponents, the bio-Luddites, wish to abandon human progress for a perpetual petual present. We should be satisfied with our biological slavery, they say. If the bio-Luddites had their way, humankind would be stuck in an eternal time warp. A bio-Luddite world would mean a static species going nowhere fast-forever. Bio-Luddism is the abdication of the moral imperative to improve our condition. dition. Humankind is an evolutionary species; we must use our powers to progress, or else sink into oblivion with the dodo. Fear and sloth can never be the basis of human ethics. Let us reject the cowardly instincts of the bio-Luddites and embrace the technology by which to correct the design faults imposed on us by nature. Let us dare to dream of greater things. For what is humanity's greatest goal but the defeat of death?
18. THE DEFEAT OF DEATH
Death is a disease waiting to be cured. We have learned to identify the genetic recipe for life. There is no reason to suppose that we will not go on to identify the genetic program for death. Research is well underway. Breakthroughs have been made. The mechanisms nisms by which cells wear out, and the chemicals which extend their life, have been identified. The life span of simple organisms has been increased.
Let us heed the words of Dr. Aubrey de Grey, immortologist at Cambridge University: "If my plan works in the timeframe I have mentioned, no one presently under thirty in wealthy nations need have a life expectancy under about 1.000 years. In practice we will be a lot more risk-averse, so I expect life expectancy to be at least 5,000 years."2
When the cure for aging is found, it will not come through faith, prayer, or meditation, but through science-product of the miraculous technowonderland of the modem world. Human beings are the product of a three-part genetic program reading, "Survive, vive, reproduce, and self-destruct." No longer satisfied with the final instruction in its programming, Homo sapiens is about to rewrite its genetic software, replacing the command to self-destruct with the instruction to self-renew.
19. DARE
Transhumanists dare to speak the truth of the human condition. It is death that is the great enemy of life. It is death that causes us to speak of "the tragedy of the human condition." Death is an obscenity. The first goal of life is survival-death is not part of the plan, so why take it lying down? Better to "rage, rage, rage against the dying of the light!"
Stoicism is the absence of will in the face of defeat. Superstition will not save us from decay. Only science can defeat death. Our evolved purpose is survival. vival. Science is the greatest tool at our disposal, and the greatest of all human beings is the scientist who devotes his life to the defeat of death. Transhumanists dare to ask what men consider only in the solitude of their darkest nights. Why must we age and die? Why must our brains and bodies be so fragile, doomed to decay-programmed for self-destruction? Why should we accept the suffering and limitations imposed upon us by nature?
And we answer without hesitation: there is no reason, there is no justification, there is no moral basis for the acceptance of death, disease, and biological limitation. We have existed in a condition of biological servitude too long. If nature refuses to eradicate disease, death, and limitation, well, then, we must do the job ourselves. It is time to free ourselves from slavery to the force which demands our self-destruction. Dangers'? Of course there are dangers! Life is dangerous. But this is no time to be lily-livered. There is too much to gain. Through the miracles of technology we may free ourselves from the tragedy of the human condition. There can be no greater reverence for life than the will to eliminate death. Let no man be ashamed of his will to survive.
20. THANATOSIA
Even when faced by the prospect of immortality, some still look for reasons to die! These thanatosians oppose immortality in the interests of population control. trol. We must die, they say, in order to make room for others. Talk about making a virtue of a necessity! Overcrowding? An evolved, intelligent species will cease to reproduce beyond its ability to support itself. We shall build homes beneath the earth, under the seas, in outer space, on other planets. Enough room there? The boredom of eternity?
Those who know how to fill time do not seek to kill it. Those who love life do not wish it to end. The naturalness of mortality? The acceptance of death as a natural part of life is a shallow defense against existential anxiety. The cause of human fatalism is the recognition of the terrible limits on our existence tence imposed by nature. What great projects could we complete given unlimited time! Nothing is quite so absurd as the attempt to justify death. Immortality is a noble goal for an evolving species. Let us no more fear our evolutionary destiny-for our destiny lies among the stars.
21. STAR TREK
Our journey into space has only just begun. We live on a small planet. It is inconceivable ceivable that the human species will not use its technical ingenuity to expand its horizons in search of wider pastures, brighter stars. Until now, the exploration of space has been obstructed by the brevity of life, the feebleness of the body, the vastness of the cosmos, and the limitations of technology. nology. But through the miracles of Superbiology, the human life span will be increased, the body strengthened and adapted to suit hostile environments. It is our destiny to expand into the galaxy and beyond. From the seashore whence we crawled, to the farthest reaches of outer space-we are destined for greater things. Per ardua ad astra-through adversity to the stars.
22. THE NEW ENLIGHTENMENT
Imagine a future. In the twenty-first century, the emergence of Superbiology will signal a new respect for the power of technology. As diseases are eliminated, and our abilities enhanced, we will begin to see a revolution in attitudes toward our own species, our place and purpose in the universe. Science will come to be seen as the liberator erator of humankind. As the ever-expanding Internet extends the human nervous system around the globe, linking mind to cybermind, a new planetary consciousness will emerge.
Gradually, the politics of division, nation against nation, race against race, will begin to fade. We shall come to see ourselves as individual neurons in an evolving global brain-a single species united in the common desire to enhance our abilities. The explosion of scientific knowledge will create New Enlightenment-a renewed faith in the ability of our species to comprehend the universe and progress beyond the limits of the human condition. Through Superbiology we will enhance our bodies and minds. Through nanotechnology we will eradicate the scourge of poverty and hunger. The "tragedy of the human condition" will come to an end ... And then we can truly say a New Age has begun.
23. THE STRENGTH TO DREAM
And what then? Liberated from biological slavery, an immortalized species, Homo cyberneticus, neticus, will set out for the stars. Conscious life will gradually spread throughout the galaxy, a neural net diversifying at every turn-a myriad of life-forms extending across space and time, until finally, in the unimaginably distant future, the whole universe has come alive, awakened to its own nature-a cosmic mind become conscious of itself as a living entity-omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent ... A dream? What is a dream but the visualization of an ideal? Is it better to have no ideals-no purpose, no direction? Is it better to wallow in the "tragedy of the human condition" like a spineless coward? Is it better not to have a dream? Let us have the strength to dream.
24. LIVE TO EVOLVE! EVOLVE TO LIVE!
Let the theists pray for help from one who never comes. Let the ecoists skulk back into nature's womb. Let the postmodernists drown in the cheap solace of cynicism. Let them all wallow in the degradation of their biological slavery! We transhumanists shall continue striving in pursuit of the knowledge by which to free ourselves from the bonds of biological slavery. The human adventure is just beginning, and there are no limits to what we might achieve once we embrace the Will to Evolve beyond our human-all-too-human condition. The only way forward is onward and upward. The only limits are those we choose to impose upon ourselves. Only the Will to Evolve can save us from self-destruction. Let us not fail to summon it.
NOTES 1. Camille Paglia, Sex, Art and American Culture (London: Penguin, 1992), p. 108. 2. Aubrey de Grey, http://www.betterhumans.com/Features/Interviews (accessed August 25, 2003). PART