Description

Transhumanism is an international movement that advocates the use of science and technology to overcome the natural limitations experienced by humanity through such developments as:

the Singularity--the creation of machine intelligences that exceed the capacities of our biological brains
the ability to replicate individual minds and put them into solidstate bodies or virtual environments
individual control over mental and emotional states for enhancing functionalities and/or ecstasies

Some of this is happening now. Some of it is still in the minds of dreamers.

In nearly ninety AZ entries, Transcendence provides a multilayered look at the accelerating advances in artificial intelligence, cognitive science, genomics, information technology, nanotechnology, neuroscience, space exploration, synthetic biology, robotics, and virtual worlds that are making transhumanism a reality. Entries range from Cloning and Cyborg Feminism to Designer Babies and MemoryEditing Drugs. In addition, the book notes historical predecessors and personalities, both in mythology and history--ranging from Timothy Leary to Michael Jackson to Ray Kurzweil. It also introduces the culture around Transhumanism, covering all the geeky obsessions of the Transhumanist movement.