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Predecessors of the Discourse on Human Enhancement

Explore the ideas of John Desmond Bernal, Julian Sorell Huxley, and John Burdon Sanderson Haldane as predecessors of the discourse on human enhancement. Discover their perspectives on biology, evolution, and the future of humanity.

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Predecessors of the Discourse on Human Enhancement

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  1. Predecessors of the Discourse on Human Enhancement John Desmond Bernal (1901 – 1971) Julian Sorell Huxley (1887 – 1975) John Burdon Sanderson Haldane (1892 – 1964) Reinhard Heil, Technische Universität Darmstadt / Nanobuero

  2. Julian Sorell Huxley • Biologist • Humanist • Eugenicist • First Director of UNESCO • What Dare I Think? (1931) • Evolution: the modern synthesis (1942) Reinhard Heil, Technische Universität Darmstadt / Nanobuero

  3. Julian Sorell Huxley “Most of us would like to live longer; to have healthier and happier lives; to be able to control the sex of our children when they are conceived, and afterwards to mould their bodies, intellects and temperaments into the best possible forms; to reduce unnecessary pain to a minimum; to be able at will to whip up our energies to their fullest pitch without later ill effects”. (Huxley 1931). Reinhard Heil, Technische Universität Darmstadt / Nanobuero

  4. John Desmond Bernal • Crystallograph • Philosopher of Science • Science Historian • Political Activist • The World, The Flesh & The Devil (1929) • The Social Function of Science (1939) Reinhard Heil, Technische Universität Darmstadt / Nanobuero

  5. John Desmond Bernal This man of the future, Bernal concluded, “must appear to those who have not contemplated him before as a strange, monstrous and inhuman creature, but he is only the logical outcome of the type of humanity that exists at present.” Reinhard Heil, Technische Universität Darmstadt / Nanobuero

  6. John Burdon Sanderson Haldane • Biologist (population genetics) • Marxist • Political Activist • Daedalus; or, Science and the Future (1924) Reinhard Heil, Technische Universität Darmstadt / Nanobuero

  7. John Burdon Sanderson Haldane But if every physical and chemical invention is a blasphemy, every biological invention is a perversion. There is hardly one which, on first being brought to the notice of an observer from any nation which has not previously heard of their existence, would not appear to him as indecent and unnatural. (Haldane 1924) Reinhard Heil, Technische Universität Darmstadt / Nanobuero

  8. Topics • The human body and nature must change permanently to adapt to changing environments. • Man must continue, as he has done since very early times, to actively interfere with evolution, and humanity will soon have the means to take over evolution and to fully control it in a rational way. • The difference between therapy and enhancement vanishes. Reinhard Heil, Technische Universität Darmstadt / Nanobuero

  9. Topics • Humanity must overcome its biology to extend its senses, strengthen its rationality and to overcome sleep and death. • Human enhancement is, above all, cognitive enhancement, the human brain can be improved by technological means • A split of humanity in different biological groups or even species will take place in the future. Reinhard Heil, Technische Universität Darmstadt / Nanobuero

  10. Predecessors of the Discourse on Human Enhancement Thank you very much for your attention. Reinhard Heil, Technische Universität Darmstadt / Nanobuero

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