Trans-Humanism Isn't Science Fiction Anymore

Do we ever have enough time?

I’ve been listening to this conversation between Jordan Peterson and Andrew Klaven. While I respect their concerns about Trans-humanism and wrote about them a couple weeks ago, their exclusive focus on those trans-humanists who want to live forever and be uploaded to the cloud ignores other valid aspects of the conversation. While Peterson and Kalavan don’t mention it, I’ve often seen the middle-grade story Tuck Everlasting used as a cautionary tale about preventing death.

Personally, I think the Netflix series Altered Carbon is a lot more scary, even if I find the level of realism to be about equal.

Let’s start with, forever as a damned long time. However much someone might worry about this I don’t see how the best humans can do is extend life, and we’ve already done that.* Even in the world of Altered Carbon where alien tech allows the preservation of consciousness beyond the destruction of the physical body, there is true death, and the need to confront what comes after.

Coming from a different angle, author Louise Perry feels that birth control pills take away our female humanity and make women into cyborgs. I’m still struggling with this one. And it’s personal. I started the pill at 16 and used it for 10 years. I didn’t express my essential femaleness by having a baby. That’s something I regret, as do a very high percentage of women who don’t bear children.* Whatever Ms Perry’s opinion, or mine, I can’t go back and change the choices I made.

But, what if I could somehow carry a child - or children - at my age, and live long enough to raise him or her to adulthood, would I do that? In Robert Heinlein’s Time Enough For Love, the members of the Howard Families can rejuvenate well enough to produce children and they take joy in doing so. Heinlein himself never had children [he and his wife were unable] and his longing for family is evident in his later writing.

There are some medical enhancements we can agree improve our humanity; cochlear, implants, corrective lenses, and prosthetics. These allow us to fully participate in the experience of being human. [Whereas, VR, or uploading your brain to the web does not.]

Speaker and author Tony Robbins, wrote a book about the latest in medical tech. In it, he describes cellular medicine that knocks back, or completely cures severe blood cancers and the latest work with placental stem cells which are vastly superior to other types, and with no moral challenges. I already use bio-identical hormone replacement therapy. I knew about this over ten years ago and planned to make use of it. It keeps me from the ravages of estrogen loss. I can think, not be in constant joint pain, and have a wonderful sex life with the husband I found so late.

Would Ms Perry see me as a cyborg? Maybe. But I’ll be interested to see how she chooses to handle menopause. There is nothing trivial about what happens to women’s bodies when their estrogen drops. The same goes for men and testosterone.

In Altered Carbon, only the uber-wealthy can afford to keep spare bodies and regularly ‘back themselves up.’ They form a nasty elite that runs depressed, dystopian worlds, and we don’t feel bad about the movement that was built to destroy them. Heinlein’s view is wildly different. People live longer, and while they are just as likely to be stupid, they are also noble, and clever, and loving, and it is connection to others that is held up as a value. Having the time to care for and cherish the people around you and build a family, a home, a town, or a world are worthy goals that might take longer than the 60-100 years we get. Something that the Transhumanists point out.

Another consideration is the absurd complexity and lightning changes since the 60s. We humans have a staggering backlog of ethical and moral considerations to hash out, and things don’t seem to be slowing down. A longer life and increased perspective could help with that. A third consideration is the threat of a global population collapse. [Yes. When I was in High School we were all harping on how overpopulation would kill us all.] Having people live longer, and hopefully healthier lives could mitigate this particular possible disaster.

Tony Robbins talks about six needs that drive humans. Certainty, uncertainty, significance, love/connection, growth, and contribution. When I was younger, I desperately sought love and connection. [I also busily created the conditions of uncertainty when what I craved was the opposite. Messy.] Now at nearly 60, I hope to create significance and help some people, perhaps because I didn't have children but maybe I’d want that anyway. People do.

I’d like to have enough time for that. Time enough for meaning and time enough for love.

*It is worth noting for those Christians who hold this concern, that the Bible says that the patriarchs lived for hundreds of years. Just sayin’.

**Please, for gods’ sake we have to stop telling women - or men for that matter - that life satisfaction comes from a career. Life satisfaction comes from helping the people around you. Career, may or may not contribute to that. [Learn from my pain!]

Selina Rifkin, M.S. [Nutrition], LMT, has been to Hades in a handbasket. More than once. This has given her some opinions. Like most of her generation [X] she’s okay with snark. Most days she tries for good writing. But the snark, and side comments creep in. She lives with her husband and is Mother of Cats; four boyz and one cranky gurl. Selina has written The Young Woman’s Goodlife Guide: Things I Wish I’d Known When I Was 20. Or… Learn From My Pain, How to Train Your Cat: Using a Clicker and Leash to Keep Your Indoor Cat Happy and Healthy, and the Goodlife Guide to Nutrition.