Gattaca
1997
The name "Gattaca" is composed entirely of the letters used to label the nucleotide bases of DNA. The four nitrogen bases of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) are adenine,thymine, cytosine, and guanine.
Nearsightedness, or myopia, is the most common refractive error of the eye, and it has become more prevalent in recent years. In fact, a recent study by the ...
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Gattaca
(1997) PG-13 | 1h 46min |
Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | 24 October 1997 (USA)
A genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.
Director:
Andrew Niccol
Writer:
Andrew Niccol
Stars:
Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Etc,...
When Gattaca was first released, as part of a marketing campaign there were adverts for people to call up and have their children genetically engineered. Thousands of people called, wanting to have their offspring genetically engineered.
Was voted the most accurate science fiction film ever made, by the scientists at NASA.
Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke became a couple during the filming of this movie. They eventually married, but divorced in 2005.
Jude Law's character asks to be called by his middle name, Eugene. "Eugene" comes from the Greek for "well born," which he is. "Eugenics" (the science of improving the hereditary qualities of a race or breed) is the central theme of the film.
The name "Gattaca" is composed entirely of the letters used to label the nucleotide bases of DNA. The four nitrogen bases of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) are adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine.
Many of the "futuristic" buildings in the film are actually quite old. Many of these represent a type of postmodern architecture called "brutalism", which was popular in the 1950s. The two massive arches seen behind Jerome and Irene during their talk are actually the spillway of the Sepulveda Dam in Los Angeles, which was built in the 1930s.
The FBI Agents are called "Hoovers," a reference to legendary top G-man J. Edgar Hoover, but also a clever reference to a vacuum cleaner brand. There are numerous shots of vacuums being used to gather DNA evidence.
While it has been identified that "GATTACA" uses the four DNA nucleotide abbreviations of G,A,T,C, more specifically, when identifying genetic markers, the tests measure "short tandem repeats" at specific DNA marker locations. These are known as "GATA or CA" repeats - hence GATTACA.
The winding stairs in Jerome's apartment have a helical structure, like DNA.
The film was shot under the title "The Eighth Day". This was a reference to the Biblical creation story, which states that the earth was created in six days and on the seventh day, God rested. The original title implies the tampering of man with what God has already made, and "The Eighth Day" is still the name of the center in the movie where the children are engineered, as noted on the DVD deleted scenes. By the time the much-delayed release of the film came around, the same title had been used by the Belgian film The Eighth Day (1996). Because of this, writer-director Andrew Niccol was forced to choose a new title for his film. "The Eighth Day of Creation" is also a history of molecular biology, written by Horace Judson in 1979 and updated in 1996. The coincidence of the second edition may also have forced reconsideration.
Uma Thurman's character is named Irene Cassini. Cassini is the surname of the seventeenth century Italian astronomer, Giovanni Domenico Cassini, who discovered the prominent gap in Saturn's main rings, as well as the icy moons, Iapetus, Dione, Rhea, and Tethys. The space mission, in this film, is destined for Saturn. In 1997, NASA launched the Cassini space probe, bound for Saturn. It carried the Huygens space probe, which was dropped into Titan in early 2005, and discovered ground under the clouds.
Public address announcements, in the Gattaca Corporation headquarters building, are in Esperanto, an artificial language invented in the nineteenth century.
In the restaurant scene, when Vincent blows smoke into his wine glass and describes Titan's atmosphere as being surrounded by clouds, the song playing in the background is called "Nuages" ("Clouds").
Film debut of Maya Rudolph.
Some interiors and exteriors of the Gattaca building belong, in reality, to the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, California. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1957. The largest Wright design ever constructed, it was largely built after his death in 1959. The central dome (prominent in the roof-cleaning scene) contains the county library.
As Vincent explains at the beginning of the film, "I was conceived in the Riviera. Not the French Riviera, the Detroit variety." He narrates over the shot of his parents laying in the oddly shaped, rear windshield of a Riviera - a 1971 Buick Riviera.
In the opening minutes, Loren Dean is shown swimming in an Endless Pool (swimming treadmill) to help establish the swimming theme and futuristic setting.
The Marin County Civic Center, filming location of the Gattaca Corporation, was also used in George Lucas's THX 1138 (1971).
Andrew Niccol's directorial debut.
Johnny Depp turned down the role of Jerome Eugene Morrow in order to make The Brave (1997).
The cars driven by the "Hoovers" are Rover P6's (sometimes called the Rover 2000), built in Britain from 1963 until 1976. They were extremely popular with the police force in Britain, where the 3.5 litre V8-engined model was used as a high speed interceptor. Three of the four P6 Rovers in the movie, were North American market 3500S versions of the 3.5 litre V8 with triple hood scoops. The fourth was a North American 2000TC with triple hood scoops added by Columbia Pictures. All four of the vehicles had triple hood scoops.
Many character names are symbolic. "Vincent" = "He shall conquer," which is what a "Freeman" does. Detective Hugo Coldspring = Human Genome Organization, which operates out of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. "Caesar" = Julius Caesar, who suffered from epilepsy. Ernest Borgnine typically plays strong leader roles, but here is limited to being a cleaner. "Cassini" = Cassini's division in the rings of Saturn, the destination of Vincent' flight. "Josef" = Josef Mengele, an SS doctor responsible for 'medical experiments' (Might this be a mistake for 'Gregor' = Gregor Mendel, Father of Genetics). "Eugene" = Eugenics, a program to 'improve' humans by selective breeding. "Flatfoot", used as an insult for a policeman, is also a genetically influenced condition. When Marie and Antonio consult the genetic counselor, they specify 'blue eyes, brown hair, and fair skin." The dark-eyed, head-shaved black counselor repeats these back, with a slight smile of condescension.
The exterior shots of Ethan Hawke and Jude Law's apartment is actually the CLA (Classrooms, Laboratories, and Administration) Building of Cal Poly Pomona by architect Antoine Predock.
End credits - The letters G A T C that appear in blue in the end credits also spell Gattaca.
Vincent's car is a 1963 Studebaker Avanti.
The letters G, A, T, and C are bold in the opening titles.
The car that Uma Thurman's character drives is a Citroen DS Cabriolet.
The first draft of the screenplay had no title.
The telephone Jude Law uses when answering Ethan Hawke's warning call is a B&O Beocom 5000 wireless.
The icons used to denote a Valid versus an In-Valid have significant meaning. On the scanners, an infinity symbol appears next a Valid's name, denoting their "infinite potential." Next to an In-Valid's name, a dagger appears. In taxonomy, a dagger next to a taxon indicates extinction. In addition, the dagger symbol resembles a cross, a reference to In-Valids being referred to as "God Children" (As Irene states when Vincent reveals his true identity to her).
To fully assume Jerome's identity, Vincent (at 5' 11") undergoes extension surgery in his legs to match Jerome's recorded height of 6' 1". In reality, Jude Law and Ethan Hawke are both 5' 11".
Was voted the most accurate science fiction film ever made, by the scientists at NASA.
Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke became a couple during the filming of this movie. They eventually married, but divorced in 2005.
Jude Law's character asks to be called by his middle name, Eugene. "Eugene" comes from the Greek for "well born," which he is. "Eugenics" (the science of improving the hereditary qualities of a race or breed) is the central theme of the film.
The name "Gattaca" is composed entirely of the letters used to label the nucleotide bases of DNA. The four nitrogen bases of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) are adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine.
Many of the "futuristic" buildings in the film are actually quite old. Many of these represent a type of postmodern architecture called "brutalism", which was popular in the 1950s. The two massive arches seen behind Jerome and Irene during their talk are actually the spillway of the Sepulveda Dam in Los Angeles, which was built in the 1930s.
The FBI Agents are called "Hoovers," a reference to legendary top G-man J. Edgar Hoover, but also a clever reference to a vacuum cleaner brand. There are numerous shots of vacuums being used to gather DNA evidence.
While it has been identified that "GATTACA" uses the four DNA nucleotide abbreviations of G,A,T,C, more specifically, when identifying genetic markers, the tests measure "short tandem repeats" at specific DNA marker locations. These are known as "GATA or CA" repeats - hence GATTACA.
The winding stairs in Jerome's apartment have a helical structure, like DNA.
The film was shot under the title "The Eighth Day". This was a reference to the Biblical creation story, which states that the earth was created in six days and on the seventh day, God rested. The original title implies the tampering of man with what God has already made, and "The Eighth Day" is still the name of the center in the movie where the children are engineered, as noted on the DVD deleted scenes. By the time the much-delayed release of the film came around, the same title had been used by the Belgian film The Eighth Day (1996). Because of this, writer-director Andrew Niccol was forced to choose a new title for his film. "The Eighth Day of Creation" is also a history of molecular biology, written by Horace Judson in 1979 and updated in 1996. The coincidence of the second edition may also have forced reconsideration.
Uma Thurman's character is named Irene Cassini. Cassini is the surname of the seventeenth century Italian astronomer, Giovanni Domenico Cassini, who discovered the prominent gap in Saturn's main rings, as well as the icy moons, Iapetus, Dione, Rhea, and Tethys. The space mission, in this film, is destined for Saturn. In 1997, NASA launched the Cassini space probe, bound for Saturn. It carried the Huygens space probe, which was dropped into Titan in early 2005, and discovered ground under the clouds.
Public address announcements, in the Gattaca Corporation headquarters building, are in Esperanto, an artificial language invented in the nineteenth century.
In the restaurant scene, when Vincent blows smoke into his wine glass and describes Titan's atmosphere as being surrounded by clouds, the song playing in the background is called "Nuages" ("Clouds").
Film debut of Maya Rudolph.
Some interiors and exteriors of the Gattaca building belong, in reality, to the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, California. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1957. The largest Wright design ever constructed, it was largely built after his death in 1959. The central dome (prominent in the roof-cleaning scene) contains the county library.
As Vincent explains at the beginning of the film, "I was conceived in the Riviera. Not the French Riviera, the Detroit variety." He narrates over the shot of his parents laying in the oddly shaped, rear windshield of a Riviera - a 1971 Buick Riviera.
In the opening minutes, Loren Dean is shown swimming in an Endless Pool (swimming treadmill) to help establish the swimming theme and futuristic setting.
The Marin County Civic Center, filming location of the Gattaca Corporation, was also used in George Lucas's THX 1138 (1971).
Andrew Niccol's directorial debut.
Johnny Depp turned down the role of Jerome Eugene Morrow in order to make The Brave (1997).
The cars driven by the "Hoovers" are Rover P6's (sometimes called the Rover 2000), built in Britain from 1963 until 1976. They were extremely popular with the police force in Britain, where the 3.5 litre V8-engined model was used as a high speed interceptor. Three of the four P6 Rovers in the movie, were North American market 3500S versions of the 3.5 litre V8 with triple hood scoops. The fourth was a North American 2000TC with triple hood scoops added by Columbia Pictures. All four of the vehicles had triple hood scoops.
Many character names are symbolic. "Vincent" = "He shall conquer," which is what a "Freeman" does. Detective Hugo Coldspring = Human Genome Organization, which operates out of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. "Caesar" = Julius Caesar, who suffered from epilepsy. Ernest Borgnine typically plays strong leader roles, but here is limited to being a cleaner. "Cassini" = Cassini's division in the rings of Saturn, the destination of Vincent' flight. "Josef" = Josef Mengele, an SS doctor responsible for 'medical experiments' (Might this be a mistake for 'Gregor' = Gregor Mendel, Father of Genetics). "Eugene" = Eugenics, a program to 'improve' humans by selective breeding. "Flatfoot", used as an insult for a policeman, is also a genetically influenced condition. When Marie and Antonio consult the genetic counselor, they specify 'blue eyes, brown hair, and fair skin." The dark-eyed, head-shaved black counselor repeats these back, with a slight smile of condescension.
The exterior shots of Ethan Hawke and Jude Law's apartment is actually the CLA (Classrooms, Laboratories, and Administration) Building of Cal Poly Pomona by architect Antoine Predock.
End credits - The letters G A T C that appear in blue in the end credits also spell Gattaca.
Vincent's car is a 1963 Studebaker Avanti.
The letters G, A, T, and C are bold in the opening titles.
The car that Uma Thurman's character drives is a Citroen DS Cabriolet.
The first draft of the screenplay had no title.
The telephone Jude Law uses when answering Ethan Hawke's warning call is a B&O Beocom 5000 wireless.
The icons used to denote a Valid versus an In-Valid have significant meaning. On the scanners, an infinity symbol appears next a Valid's name, denoting their "infinite potential." Next to an In-Valid's name, a dagger appears. In taxonomy, a dagger next to a taxon indicates extinction. In addition, the dagger symbol resembles a cross, a reference to In-Valids being referred to as "God Children" (As Irene states when Vincent reveals his true identity to her).
To fully assume Jerome's identity, Vincent (at 5' 11") undergoes extension surgery in his legs to match Jerome's recorded height of 6' 1". In reality, Jude Law and Ethan Hawke are both 5' 11".
The name Gateacre (pronounced gat-acca, not gate-acre) was first used in the mid-16th century to refer to the area that had previously been part of the townships of 'Little' and 'Much' Woolton.[2] The origin of the name is not fully known, although there are two parallel theories on where it may have come from. The first explanation suggests that the name may derive from 'gata' - meaning path or 'the way' in Middle English - to the 'acre field' of Much Woolton (which approximately encompasses what is modern day Woolton).[2][3] An alternative suggestion is that the name may have developed from the Anglo-Saxon term gāt-æcer, which means a "newly cultivated plot where goats are kept."
Sheep/Cloning/Dolly the sheep
Gattaca is a 1997 American science fiction film written and directed by Andrew Niccol. It stars Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, with Jude Law, Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal, and Alan Arkin appearing in supporting roles.The film presents a biopunk vision of a future society driven by eugenics where potential children are conceived through genetic manipulation to ensure they possess the best hereditary traits of their parents.The film centers on Vincent Freeman, played by Hawke, who was conceived outside the eugenics program and struggles to overcome genetic discrimination to realize his dream of traveling into space.
The movie draws on concerns over reproductive technologies which facilitate eugenics, and the possible consequences of such technological developments for society. It also explores the idea of destiny and the ways in which it can and does govern lives. Characters in Gattaca continually battle both with society and with themselves to find their place in the world and who they are destined to be according to their genes.
The film's title is based on the first letters of guanine, adenine, thymine, and cytosine, the four nucleobases of DNA. It was a 1997 nominee for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
The film flopped at the box office, but it received generally positive reviews and has since gained a cult following.
Directed byAndrew Niccol
Produced byDanny DeVito
Michael Shamberg
Stacey Sher
Gail Lyon
Written byAndrew Niccol
Starring
Music byMichael Nyman
CinematographySławomir Idziak
Edited byLisa Zeno Churgin
Production
companyJersey Films
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
Running time106 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$36 million
Box office$12.5 million[1]
Sheep/Cloning/Dolly the sheep
Gattaca is a 1997 American science fiction film written and directed by Andrew Niccol. It stars Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, with Jude Law, Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal, and Alan Arkin appearing in supporting roles.The film presents a biopunk vision of a future society driven by eugenics where potential children are conceived through genetic manipulation to ensure they possess the best hereditary traits of their parents.The film centers on Vincent Freeman, played by Hawke, who was conceived outside the eugenics program and struggles to overcome genetic discrimination to realize his dream of traveling into space.
The movie draws on concerns over reproductive technologies which facilitate eugenics, and the possible consequences of such technological developments for society. It also explores the idea of destiny and the ways in which it can and does govern lives. Characters in Gattaca continually battle both with society and with themselves to find their place in the world and who they are destined to be according to their genes.
The film's title is based on the first letters of guanine, adenine, thymine, and cytosine, the four nucleobases of DNA. It was a 1997 nominee for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
The film flopped at the box office, but it received generally positive reviews and has since gained a cult following.
Directed byAndrew Niccol
Produced byDanny DeVito
Michael Shamberg
Stacey Sher
Gail Lyon
Written byAndrew Niccol
Starring
Music byMichael Nyman
CinematographySławomir Idziak
Edited byLisa Zeno Churgin
Production
companyJersey Films
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
- October 24, 1997
Running time106 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$36 million
Box office$12.5 million[1]
PlotIn "the not-too-distant future", eugenics is common. A genetic registry database uses biometrics to classify those so created as "valids" while those conceived by traditional means and more susceptible to genetic disorders are known as "in-valids". Genetic discrimination is illegal, but in practice genotype profiling is used to identify valids to qualify for professional employment while in-valids are relegated to menial jobs.
Vincent Freeman is conceived without the aid of genetic selection; his genetics indicate a high probability of several disorders and an estimated life span of 30.2 years. His parents, regretting their decision, use genetic selection to give birth to their next child, Anton. Growing up, the two brothers often play a game of "chicken" by swimming out to sea with the first one returning to shore considered the loser; Vincent always loses. Vincent dreams of a career in space travel but is reminded of his genetic inferiority. One day Vincent challenges Anton to a game of chicken and bests him before Anton starts to drown. Vincent saves Anton and then leaves home.
Vincent works as an in-valid, cleaning office spaces including that of Gattaca Aerospace Corporation, a space-flight conglomerate. He gets a chance to pose as a valid by using hair, skin, blood and urine samples from a donor, Jerome Eugene Morrow, who is a former swimming star paralyzed due to a car accident.[5] With Jerome's genetic makeup, Vincent gains employment at Gattaca, and is assigned to be navigator for an upcoming trip to Saturn's moon Titan. To keep his identity hidden, Vincent must meticulously groom and scrub down daily to remove his own genetic material, and pass daily DNA scanning and urine tests using Jerome's samples.
Gattaca becomes embroiled in controversy when one of its administrators is murdered a week before the flight. The police find a fallen eyelash of Vincent's at the scene. An investigation is launched to find the murderer, Vincent being the top suspect. Through this, Vincent becomes close to a co-worker, Irene Cassini, and falls in love with her. Though a valid, Irene has a higher risk of heart failure that will prevent her from joining any deep space Gattaca mission. Vincent also learns that Jerome's paralysis is by his own hand; after coming in second place in a swim meet, Jerome threw himself in front of a car. Jerome maintains that he was designed to be the best, yet wasn't, and that is the source of his suffering.
Vincent repeatedly evades scrutiny from the investigation, and it is revealed that Gattaca's mission director was the killer, as the administrator was threatening to cancel the mission. Vincent learns the identity of the detective who closed the case, his brother Anton, who has become aware of Vincent's presence. The brothers meet, and Anton warns Vincent that what he is doing is illegal, but Vincent asserts that he has gotten to this position on his own merits. Anton challenges Vincent to one more game of chicken. As the two swim out in the dead of night, Anton is surprised at Vincent's stamina, and Vincent reveals that his trick to winning was not saving energy for the swim back. Anton turns back and begins to drown, but Vincent rescues him and swims them both back to shore using celestial navigation.
On the day of the launch, Jerome reveals that he has stored enough DNA samples for Vincent to last two lifetimes upon his return, and gives him an envelope to open once in flight. After saying goodbye to Irene, Vincent prepares to board but discovers there is a final genetic test, and he currently lacks any of Jerome's samples. He is surprised when Dr. Lamar, the person in charge of background checks, reveals that he knows Vincent has been posing as a valid. Lamar admits that his son looks up to Vincent and wonders whether his son, genetically selected but "not all that they promised", could break the limits just as Vincent has. He passes Vincent as a valid. As the rocket launches, Jerome dons his swimming medal and immolates himself in his home's incinerator; Vincent opens the note from Jerome to find only a lock of Jerome's hair attached to it. Vincent muses on this, stating "For someone who was never meant for this world, I must confess, I’m suddenly having a hard time leaving it. Of course, they say every atom in our bodies was once a part of a star. Maybe I'm not leaving; maybe I'm going home."
Cast
Vincent Freeman is conceived without the aid of genetic selection; his genetics indicate a high probability of several disorders and an estimated life span of 30.2 years. His parents, regretting their decision, use genetic selection to give birth to their next child, Anton. Growing up, the two brothers often play a game of "chicken" by swimming out to sea with the first one returning to shore considered the loser; Vincent always loses. Vincent dreams of a career in space travel but is reminded of his genetic inferiority. One day Vincent challenges Anton to a game of chicken and bests him before Anton starts to drown. Vincent saves Anton and then leaves home.
Vincent works as an in-valid, cleaning office spaces including that of Gattaca Aerospace Corporation, a space-flight conglomerate. He gets a chance to pose as a valid by using hair, skin, blood and urine samples from a donor, Jerome Eugene Morrow, who is a former swimming star paralyzed due to a car accident.[5] With Jerome's genetic makeup, Vincent gains employment at Gattaca, and is assigned to be navigator for an upcoming trip to Saturn's moon Titan. To keep his identity hidden, Vincent must meticulously groom and scrub down daily to remove his own genetic material, and pass daily DNA scanning and urine tests using Jerome's samples.
Gattaca becomes embroiled in controversy when one of its administrators is murdered a week before the flight. The police find a fallen eyelash of Vincent's at the scene. An investigation is launched to find the murderer, Vincent being the top suspect. Through this, Vincent becomes close to a co-worker, Irene Cassini, and falls in love with her. Though a valid, Irene has a higher risk of heart failure that will prevent her from joining any deep space Gattaca mission. Vincent also learns that Jerome's paralysis is by his own hand; after coming in second place in a swim meet, Jerome threw himself in front of a car. Jerome maintains that he was designed to be the best, yet wasn't, and that is the source of his suffering.
Vincent repeatedly evades scrutiny from the investigation, and it is revealed that Gattaca's mission director was the killer, as the administrator was threatening to cancel the mission. Vincent learns the identity of the detective who closed the case, his brother Anton, who has become aware of Vincent's presence. The brothers meet, and Anton warns Vincent that what he is doing is illegal, but Vincent asserts that he has gotten to this position on his own merits. Anton challenges Vincent to one more game of chicken. As the two swim out in the dead of night, Anton is surprised at Vincent's stamina, and Vincent reveals that his trick to winning was not saving energy for the swim back. Anton turns back and begins to drown, but Vincent rescues him and swims them both back to shore using celestial navigation.
On the day of the launch, Jerome reveals that he has stored enough DNA samples for Vincent to last two lifetimes upon his return, and gives him an envelope to open once in flight. After saying goodbye to Irene, Vincent prepares to board but discovers there is a final genetic test, and he currently lacks any of Jerome's samples. He is surprised when Dr. Lamar, the person in charge of background checks, reveals that he knows Vincent has been posing as a valid. Lamar admits that his son looks up to Vincent and wonders whether his son, genetically selected but "not all that they promised", could break the limits just as Vincent has. He passes Vincent as a valid. As the rocket launches, Jerome dons his swimming medal and immolates himself in his home's incinerator; Vincent opens the note from Jerome to find only a lock of Jerome's hair attached to it. Vincent muses on this, stating "For someone who was never meant for this world, I must confess, I’m suddenly having a hard time leaving it. Of course, they say every atom in our bodies was once a part of a star. Maybe I'm not leaving; maybe I'm going home."
Cast
- Ethan Hawke as Vincent Anton Freeman, impersonating Jerome Eugene Morrow
- Mason Gamble as young Vincent
- Chad Christ as teenage Vincent
- Uma Thurman as Irene Cassini
- Jude Law as Jerome Eugene Morrow
- Loren Dean as Anton Freeman
- Vincent Nielson as young Anton
- William Lee Scott as teenage Anton
- Gore Vidal as Director Josef
- Xander Berkeley as Dr. Lamar
- Jayne Brook as Marie Freeman
- Elias Koteas as Antonio Freeman
- Maya Rudolph as Delivery nurse
- Blair Underwood as Geneticist
- Ernest Borgnine as Caesar
- Tony Shalhoub as German
- Alan Arkin as Detective Hugo
- Dean Norris as Cop on the Beat
- Ken Marino as Sequencing technician
- Cynthia Martells as Cavendish
- Gabrielle Reece as Gattaca Trainer
Accolades[edit]Awards
AwardCategoryNameOutcome
Academy AwardsBest Art DirectionJan Roelfs
Nancy NyeNominated
Art Directors Guild AwardExcellence in Production DesignJan Roelfs
Sarah Knowles
Natalie RichardsNominated
Bogey AwardsBogey AwardWon
Gérardmer Film FestivalSpecial Jury PrizeAndrew NiccolWon
Fun TrophyWon
Golden Globe AwardsBest Original ScoreMichael NymanNominated
Hugo AwardsBest Dramatic PresentationAndrew NiccolNominated
London Film Critics' Circle AwardsBest Screenwriter of the YearAndrew NiccolWon
Paris Film FestivalGrand PrixNominated
Satellite AwardsBest Art Direction and Production DesignJan RoelfsNominated
Saturn AwardsBest CostumeColeen AtwoodNominated
Best MusicMichael NymanNominated
Best Home Video ReleaseNominated
Sitges – Catalonian International Film FestivalBest Motion PictureAndrew NiccolsWon
Best Original SoundtrackMichael NymanWon
AwardCategoryNameOutcome
Academy AwardsBest Art DirectionJan Roelfs
Nancy NyeNominated
Art Directors Guild AwardExcellence in Production DesignJan Roelfs
Sarah Knowles
Natalie RichardsNominated
Bogey AwardsBogey AwardWon
Gérardmer Film FestivalSpecial Jury PrizeAndrew NiccolWon
Fun TrophyWon
Golden Globe AwardsBest Original ScoreMichael NymanNominated
Hugo AwardsBest Dramatic PresentationAndrew NiccolNominated
London Film Critics' Circle AwardsBest Screenwriter of the YearAndrew NiccolWon
Paris Film FestivalGrand PrixNominated
Satellite AwardsBest Art Direction and Production DesignJan RoelfsNominated
Saturn AwardsBest CostumeColeen AtwoodNominated
Best MusicMichael NymanNominated
Best Home Video ReleaseNominated
Sitges – Catalonian International Film FestivalBest Motion PictureAndrew NiccolsWon
Best Original SoundtrackMichael NymanWon
Early transhumanist thinking[edit]
Julian Huxley, the biologist who popularised the term transhumanism in an influential 1957 essay.Fundamental ideas of transhumanism were first advanced in 1923 by the British geneticist J. B. S. Haldane in his essay Daedalus: Science and the Future, which predicted that great benefits would come from applications of advanced sciences to human biology—and that every such advance would first appear to someone as blasphemy or perversion, "indecent and unnatural". In particular, he was interested in the development of the science of eugenics, ectogenesis (creating and sustaining life in an artificial environment), and the application of genetics to improve human characteristics, such as health and intelligence.
His article inspired academic and popular interest. J. D. Bernal, a crystallographer at Cambridge, wrote The World, the Flesh and the Devil in 1929, in which he speculated on the prospects of space colonization and radical changes to human bodies and intelligence through bionic implants and cognitive enhancement.These ideas have been common transhumanist themes ever since.
The biologist Julian Huxley is generally regarded as the founder of transhumanism, after he used the term for the title of an influential 1957 article. The term itself, however, derives from an earlier 1940 paper by the Canadian philosopher W. D. Lighthall. Huxley describes transhumanism in these terms:
Up till now human life has generally been, as Hobbes described it, 'nasty, brutish and short'; the great majority of human beings (if they have not already died young) have been afflicted with misery… we can justifiably hold the belief that these lands of possibility exist, and that the present limitations and miserable frustrations of our existence could be in large measure surmounted… The human species can, if it wishes, transcend itself—not just sporadically, an individual here in one way, an individual there in another way, but in its entirety, as humanity.
Huxley's definition differs, albeit not substantially, from the one commonly in use since the 1980s. The ideas raised by these thinkers were explored in the science fiction of the 1960s, notably in Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey, in which an alien artifact grants transcendent power to its wielder.
Japanese Metabolist architects produced a manifesto in 1960 which outlined goals to "encourage active metabolic development of our society" through design and technology. In the Material and Man section of the manifesto, Noboru Kawazoe suggests that:
After several decades, with the rapid progress of communication technology, every one will have a “brain wave receiver” in his ear, which conveys directly and exactly what other people think about him and vice versa. What I think will be known by all the people. There is no more individual consciousness, only the will of mankind as a whole.
Julian Huxley, the biologist who popularised the term transhumanism in an influential 1957 essay.Fundamental ideas of transhumanism were first advanced in 1923 by the British geneticist J. B. S. Haldane in his essay Daedalus: Science and the Future, which predicted that great benefits would come from applications of advanced sciences to human biology—and that every such advance would first appear to someone as blasphemy or perversion, "indecent and unnatural". In particular, he was interested in the development of the science of eugenics, ectogenesis (creating and sustaining life in an artificial environment), and the application of genetics to improve human characteristics, such as health and intelligence.
His article inspired academic and popular interest. J. D. Bernal, a crystallographer at Cambridge, wrote The World, the Flesh and the Devil in 1929, in which he speculated on the prospects of space colonization and radical changes to human bodies and intelligence through bionic implants and cognitive enhancement.These ideas have been common transhumanist themes ever since.
The biologist Julian Huxley is generally regarded as the founder of transhumanism, after he used the term for the title of an influential 1957 article. The term itself, however, derives from an earlier 1940 paper by the Canadian philosopher W. D. Lighthall. Huxley describes transhumanism in these terms:
Up till now human life has generally been, as Hobbes described it, 'nasty, brutish and short'; the great majority of human beings (if they have not already died young) have been afflicted with misery… we can justifiably hold the belief that these lands of possibility exist, and that the present limitations and miserable frustrations of our existence could be in large measure surmounted… The human species can, if it wishes, transcend itself—not just sporadically, an individual here in one way, an individual there in another way, but in its entirety, as humanity.
Huxley's definition differs, albeit not substantially, from the one commonly in use since the 1980s. The ideas raised by these thinkers were explored in the science fiction of the 1960s, notably in Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey, in which an alien artifact grants transcendent power to its wielder.
Japanese Metabolist architects produced a manifesto in 1960 which outlined goals to "encourage active metabolic development of our society" through design and technology. In the Material and Man section of the manifesto, Noboru Kawazoe suggests that:
After several decades, with the rapid progress of communication technology, every one will have a “brain wave receiver” in his ear, which conveys directly and exactly what other people think about him and vice versa. What I think will be known by all the people. There is no more individual consciousness, only the will of mankind as a whole.
Theory[edit]See also: Outline of transhumanismIt is a matter of debate whether transhumanism is a branch of posthumanism and how this philosophical movement should be conceptualised with regard to transhumanism. The latter is often referred to as a variant or activist form of posthumanism by its conservative,[8] Christian[46] and progressive[47][48] critics.
A common feature of transhumanism and philosophical posthumanism is the future vision of a new intelligent species, into which humanity will evolve and eventually will supplement or supersede it. Transhumanism stresses the evolutionary perspective, including sometimes the creation of a highly intelligent animal species by way of cognitive enhancement (i.e. biological uplift),[5] but clings to a "posthuman future" as the final goal of participant evolution.[49]
Nevertheless, the idea of creating intelligent artificial beings (proposed, for example, by roboticist Hans Moravec) has influenced transhumanism.[22] Moravec's ideas and transhumanism have also been characterised as a "complacent" or "apocalyptic" variant of posthumanism and contrasted with "cultural posthumanism" in humanities and the arts.[50] While such a "cultural posthumanism" would offer resources for rethinking the relationships between humans and increasingly sophisticated machines, transhumanism and similar posthumanisms are, in this view, not abandoning obsolete concepts of the "autonomous liberal subject", but are expanding its "prerogatives" into the realm of the posthuman.[51] Transhumanist self-characterisations as a continuation of humanism and Enlightenment thinking correspond with this view.
Some secular humanists conceive transhumanism as an offspring of the humanist freethought movement and argue that transhumanists differ from the humanist mainstream by having a specific focus on technological approaches to resolving human concerns (i.e. technocentrism) and on the issue of mortality.[52] However, other progressives have argued that posthumanism, whether it be its philosophical or activist forms, amounts to a shift away from concerns about social justice, from the reform of human institutions and from other Enlightenment preoccupations, toward narcissistic longings for a transcendence of the human body in quest of more exquisite ways of being.[53]
As an alternative, humanist philosopher Dwight Gilbert Jones has proposed a renewed Renaissance humanism through DNA and genome repositories, with each individual genotype (DNA) being instantiated as successive phenotypes (bodies or lives via cloning, Church of Man, 1978). In his view, native molecular DNA "continuity" is required for retaining the "self" and no amount of computing power or memory aggregation can replace the essential "stink" of our true genetic identity, which he terms "genity". Instead, DNA/genome stewardship by an institution analogous to the Jesuits' 400 year vigil is a suggested model for enabling humanism to become our species' common credo, a project he proposed in his speculative novel The Humanist – 1000 Summers (2011), wherein humanity dedicates these coming centuries to harmonizing our planet and peoples.
The philosophy of transhumanism is closely related to technoself studies, an interdisciplinary domain of scholarly research dealing with all aspects of human identity in a technological society and focusing on the changing nature of relationships between humans and technology.[54]
Aims[edit]
Raymond Kurzweil believes that a countdown to when "human life will be irreversibly transformed" can be made through plotting major world events on a graph.While many transhumanist theorists and advocates seek to apply reason, science and technology for the purposes of reducing poverty, disease, disability and malnutrition around the globe,[35]transhumanism is distinctive in its particular focus on the applications of technologies to the improvement of human bodies at the individual level. Many transhumanists actively assess the potential for future technologies and innovative social systems to improve the quality of all life, while seeking to make the material reality of the human condition fulfill the promise of legal and political equality by eliminating congenital mental and physical barriers.
Transhumanist philosophers argue that there not only exists a perfectionist ethical imperative for humans to strive for progress and improvement of the human condition, but that it is possible and desirable for humanity to enter a transhuman phase of existence in which humans enhance themselves beyond what is naturally human. In such a phase, natural evolution would be replaced with deliberate participatory or directed evolution.
Some theorists such as Raymond Kurzweil think that the pace of technological innovation is accelerating and that the next 50 years may yield not only radical technological advances, but possibly a technological singularity, which may fundamentally change the nature of human beings.[55] Transhumanists who foresee this massive technological change generally maintain that it is desirable. However, some are also concerned with the possible dangers of extremely rapid technological change and propose options for ensuring that advanced technology is used responsibly. For example, Bostrom has written extensively on existential risks to humanity's future welfare, including ones that could be created by emerging technologies.[56]
While many people believe that all transhumanists are striving for immortality, it is not necessarily true. Hank Pellissier, managing director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (2011-2012), surveyed transhumanists. He found that, of the 818 respondents, 23.8% did not want immortality.[57] Some of the reasons argued were boredom, Earth's overpopulation and the desire "to go to an afterlife".[57]
Empathic fallibility and conversational consent[edit]Certain transhumanist philosophers hold that since all assumptions about what others experience are fallible, and that therefore all attempts to help or protect beings that are not capable of correcting what others assume about them no matter how well-intentioned are in danger of actually hurting them, all sentient beings deserve to be sapient. These thinkers argue that the ability to discuss in a falsification-based way constitutes a threshold that is not arbitrary at which it becomes possible for an individual to speak for himself/herself/itself in a way that is not dependent on exterior assumptions. They also argue that all beings capable of experiencing something deserve to be elevated to this threshold if they are not at it, typically stating that the underlying change that leads to the threshold is an increase in the preciseness of the brain's ability to discriminate. This includes increasing the neuron count and connectivity in animals as well as accelerating the development of connectivity in order to shorten or ideally skip non-sapient childhood incapable of independently deciding for oneself. Transhumanists of this description stress that the genetic engineering that they advocate is general insertion into both the somatic cells of living beings and in germ cells, and not purging of individuals without the modifications, deeming the latter not only unethical but also unnecessary due to the possibilities of efficient genetic engineering.[58][59][60][61]
Ethics[edit]Part of a Philosophy series on
Humanism
History
Secular humanism
Religious humanism
Other forms
Organizations
See also
Philosophy portal
Transhumanists engage in interdisciplinary approaches to understand and evaluate possibilities for overcoming biological limitations by drawing on futurology and various fields of ethics. Unlike many philosophers, social critics and activists who place a moral value on preservation of natural systems, transhumanists see the very concept of the specifically natural as problematically nebulous at best and an obstacle to progress at worst.[62] In keeping with this, many prominent transhumanist advocates, such as Dan Agin, refer to transhumanism's critics, on the political right and left jointly, as "bioconservatives" or "bioluddites", the latter term alluding to the 19th century anti-industrialisation social movement that opposed the replacement of human manual labourers by machines.[63]
A belief of counter-transhumanism is that transhumanism can cause unfair human enhancement in many areas of life, but specifically on the social plane. This can be compared to steroid use, where athletes who use steroids in sports have an advantage over those who do not. The same scenario happens when people have certain neural implants that give them an advantage in the work place and in educational aspects.[64]
Currents[edit]There is a variety of opinions within transhumanist thought. Many of the leading transhumanist thinkers hold views that are under constant revision and development.[65] Some distinctive currents of transhumanism are identified and listed here in alphabetical order:
Many transhumanists believe in the compatibility between the human mind and computer hardware, with the theoretical implication that human consciousness may someday be transferred to alternative media (a speculative technique commonly known as mind uploading).[73] One extreme formulation of this idea, which some transhumanists are interested in, is the proposal of the Omega Point by Christian cosmologist Frank Tipler. Drawing upon ideas in digitalism, Tipler has advanced the notion that the collapse of the Universe billions of years hence could create the conditions for the perpetuation of humanity in a simulated reality within a megacomputer and thus achieve a form of "posthuman godhood". Tipler's thought was inspired by the writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a paleontologist and Jesuit theologian who saw an evolutionary telos in the development of an encompassing noosphere, a global consciousness.[74][75][76]
Viewed from the perspective of some Christian thinkers, the idea of mind uploading is asserted to represent a denigration of the human body, characteristic of gnostic manichaean belief.[77] Transhumanism and its presumed intellectual progenitors have also been described as neo-gnostic by non-Christian and secular commentators.[78][79]
The first dialogue between transhumanism and faith was a one-day conference held at the University of Toronto in 2004.[80]Religious critics alone faulted the philosophy of transhumanism as offering no eternal truths nor a relationship with the divine. They commented that a philosophy bereft of these beliefs leaves humanity adrift in a foggy sea of postmoderncynicism and anomie. Transhumanists responded that such criticisms reflect a failure to look at the actual content of the transhumanist philosophy, which, far from being cynical, is rooted in optimistic, idealistic attitudes that trace back to the Enlightenment.[81] Following this dialogue, William Sims Bainbridge, a sociologist of religion, conducted a pilot study, published in the Journal of Evolution and Technology, suggesting that religious attitudes were negatively correlated with acceptance of transhumanist ideas and indicating that individuals with highly religious worldviews tended to perceive transhumanism as being a direct, competitive (though ultimately futile) affront to their spiritual beliefs.[82]
Since 2006, the Mormon Transhumanist Association sponsors conferences and lectures on the intersection of technology and religion.[83]
Since 2009, the American Academy of Religion holds a "Transhumanism and Religion" consultation during its annual meeting, where scholars in the field of religious studies seek to identify and critically evaluate any implicit religious beliefs that might underlie key transhumanist claims and assumptions; consider how transhumanism challenges religious traditions to develop their own ideas of the human future, in particular the prospect of human transformation, whether by technological or other means; and provide critical and constructive assessments of an envisioned future that place greater confidence in nanotechnology, robotics and information technology to achieve virtual immortality and create a superior posthuman species.[84]
The physicist and transhumanist thinker Giulio Prisco states that "cosmist religions based on science, might be our best protection from reckless pursuit of superintelligence and other risky technologies."[85] Prisco also recognizes the importance of spiritual ideas, as the ones of Nikolai Fyodorovich Fyodorov to the origins of the transhumanism movement.
Practice[edit]While some transhumanists[who?] take an abstract and theoretical approach to the perceived benefits of emerging technologies, others have offered specific proposals for modifications to the human body, including heritable ones. Transhumanists are often concerned with methods of enhancing the human nervous system. Though some, such as Kevin Warwick, propose modification of the peripheral nervous system, the brain is considered the common denominator of personhood and is thus a primary focus of transhumanist ambitions.[86]
In fact Warwick has gone a lot further than merely making a proposal. In 2002 he had a 100 electrode array surgically implanted into the median nerves of his left arm in order to link his nervous system directly with a computer and thus to also connect with the internet. As a consequence he carried out a series of experiments. He was able to directly control a robot hand using his neural signals and to feel the force applied by the hand through feedback from the fingertips. He also experienced a form of ultrasonic sensory input and conducted the first purely electronic communication between his own nervous system and that of his wife who also had electrodes implanted.[87]
As proponents of self-improvement and body modification, including gender transitioning, transhumanists tend to use existing technologies and techniques that supposedly improve cognitive and physical performance, while engaging in routines and lifestyles designed to improve health and longevity.[88] Depending on their age, some[who?] transhumanists express concern that they will not live to reap the benefits of future technologies. However, many have a great interest in life extension strategies and in funding research in cryonics in order to make the latter a viable option of last resort, rather than remaining an unproven method.[89] Regional and global transhumanist networks and communities with a range of objectives exist to provide support and forums for discussion and collaborative projects.[citation needed]
Technologies of interest[edit]Main article: Human enhancement technologies
Converging Technologies, a 2002 report exploring the potential for synergy among nano-, bio-, info- and cogno-technologies, has become a landmark in near-future technological speculation.[90]Transhumanists support the emergence and convergence of technologies including nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science (NBIC), as well as hypothetical future technologies like simulated reality, artificial intelligence, superintelligence, 3D bioprinting, mind uploading, chemical brain preservation and cryonics. They believe that humans can and should use these technologies to become more than human.[91] Therefore, they support the recognition and/or protection of cognitive liberty, morphological freedom and procreative liberty as civil liberties, so as to guarantee individuals the choice of using human enhancement technologies on themselves and their children.[92] Some speculate that human enhancement techniques and other emerging technologies may facilitate more radical human enhancement no later than at the midpoint of the 21st century. Kurzweil's book The Singularity is Near and Michio Kaku's book Physics of the Future outline various human enhancement technologies and give insight on how these technologies may impact the human race.[55][93]
Some reports on the converging technologies and NBIC concepts have criticised their transhumanist orientation and alleged science fictional character.[94] At the same time, research on brain and body alteration technologies has been accelerated under the sponsorship of the U. S. Department of Defense, which is interested in the battlefield advantages they would provide to the supersoldiers of the United States and its allies.[95] There has already been a brain research program to "extend the ability to manage information", while military scientists are now looking at stretching the human capacity for combat to a maximum 168 hours without sleep.[96]
Neuroscientist Anders Sandberg has been practicing on the method of scanning ultra-thin sections of the brain. This method is being used to help better understand the architecture of the brain. As of now, this method is currently being used on mice. This is the first step towards uploading contents of the human brain, including memories and emotions, onto a computer.[97]
A common feature of transhumanism and philosophical posthumanism is the future vision of a new intelligent species, into which humanity will evolve and eventually will supplement or supersede it. Transhumanism stresses the evolutionary perspective, including sometimes the creation of a highly intelligent animal species by way of cognitive enhancement (i.e. biological uplift),[5] but clings to a "posthuman future" as the final goal of participant evolution.[49]
Nevertheless, the idea of creating intelligent artificial beings (proposed, for example, by roboticist Hans Moravec) has influenced transhumanism.[22] Moravec's ideas and transhumanism have also been characterised as a "complacent" or "apocalyptic" variant of posthumanism and contrasted with "cultural posthumanism" in humanities and the arts.[50] While such a "cultural posthumanism" would offer resources for rethinking the relationships between humans and increasingly sophisticated machines, transhumanism and similar posthumanisms are, in this view, not abandoning obsolete concepts of the "autonomous liberal subject", but are expanding its "prerogatives" into the realm of the posthuman.[51] Transhumanist self-characterisations as a continuation of humanism and Enlightenment thinking correspond with this view.
Some secular humanists conceive transhumanism as an offspring of the humanist freethought movement and argue that transhumanists differ from the humanist mainstream by having a specific focus on technological approaches to resolving human concerns (i.e. technocentrism) and on the issue of mortality.[52] However, other progressives have argued that posthumanism, whether it be its philosophical or activist forms, amounts to a shift away from concerns about social justice, from the reform of human institutions and from other Enlightenment preoccupations, toward narcissistic longings for a transcendence of the human body in quest of more exquisite ways of being.[53]
As an alternative, humanist philosopher Dwight Gilbert Jones has proposed a renewed Renaissance humanism through DNA and genome repositories, with each individual genotype (DNA) being instantiated as successive phenotypes (bodies or lives via cloning, Church of Man, 1978). In his view, native molecular DNA "continuity" is required for retaining the "self" and no amount of computing power or memory aggregation can replace the essential "stink" of our true genetic identity, which he terms "genity". Instead, DNA/genome stewardship by an institution analogous to the Jesuits' 400 year vigil is a suggested model for enabling humanism to become our species' common credo, a project he proposed in his speculative novel The Humanist – 1000 Summers (2011), wherein humanity dedicates these coming centuries to harmonizing our planet and peoples.
The philosophy of transhumanism is closely related to technoself studies, an interdisciplinary domain of scholarly research dealing with all aspects of human identity in a technological society and focusing on the changing nature of relationships between humans and technology.[54]
Aims[edit]
Raymond Kurzweil believes that a countdown to when "human life will be irreversibly transformed" can be made through plotting major world events on a graph.While many transhumanist theorists and advocates seek to apply reason, science and technology for the purposes of reducing poverty, disease, disability and malnutrition around the globe,[35]transhumanism is distinctive in its particular focus on the applications of technologies to the improvement of human bodies at the individual level. Many transhumanists actively assess the potential for future technologies and innovative social systems to improve the quality of all life, while seeking to make the material reality of the human condition fulfill the promise of legal and political equality by eliminating congenital mental and physical barriers.
Transhumanist philosophers argue that there not only exists a perfectionist ethical imperative for humans to strive for progress and improvement of the human condition, but that it is possible and desirable for humanity to enter a transhuman phase of existence in which humans enhance themselves beyond what is naturally human. In such a phase, natural evolution would be replaced with deliberate participatory or directed evolution.
Some theorists such as Raymond Kurzweil think that the pace of technological innovation is accelerating and that the next 50 years may yield not only radical technological advances, but possibly a technological singularity, which may fundamentally change the nature of human beings.[55] Transhumanists who foresee this massive technological change generally maintain that it is desirable. However, some are also concerned with the possible dangers of extremely rapid technological change and propose options for ensuring that advanced technology is used responsibly. For example, Bostrom has written extensively on existential risks to humanity's future welfare, including ones that could be created by emerging technologies.[56]
While many people believe that all transhumanists are striving for immortality, it is not necessarily true. Hank Pellissier, managing director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (2011-2012), surveyed transhumanists. He found that, of the 818 respondents, 23.8% did not want immortality.[57] Some of the reasons argued were boredom, Earth's overpopulation and the desire "to go to an afterlife".[57]
Empathic fallibility and conversational consent[edit]Certain transhumanist philosophers hold that since all assumptions about what others experience are fallible, and that therefore all attempts to help or protect beings that are not capable of correcting what others assume about them no matter how well-intentioned are in danger of actually hurting them, all sentient beings deserve to be sapient. These thinkers argue that the ability to discuss in a falsification-based way constitutes a threshold that is not arbitrary at which it becomes possible for an individual to speak for himself/herself/itself in a way that is not dependent on exterior assumptions. They also argue that all beings capable of experiencing something deserve to be elevated to this threshold if they are not at it, typically stating that the underlying change that leads to the threshold is an increase in the preciseness of the brain's ability to discriminate. This includes increasing the neuron count and connectivity in animals as well as accelerating the development of connectivity in order to shorten or ideally skip non-sapient childhood incapable of independently deciding for oneself. Transhumanists of this description stress that the genetic engineering that they advocate is general insertion into both the somatic cells of living beings and in germ cells, and not purging of individuals without the modifications, deeming the latter not only unethical but also unnecessary due to the possibilities of efficient genetic engineering.[58][59][60][61]
Ethics[edit]Part of a Philosophy series on
Humanism
History
Secular humanism
Religious humanism
Other forms
Organizations
- International Humanist and
Ethical Union (IHEU) - American Humanist Association
- British Humanist Association
- Humanistischer Verband Deutschlands
- Human-Etisk Forbund
See also
Philosophy portal
Transhumanists engage in interdisciplinary approaches to understand and evaluate possibilities for overcoming biological limitations by drawing on futurology and various fields of ethics. Unlike many philosophers, social critics and activists who place a moral value on preservation of natural systems, transhumanists see the very concept of the specifically natural as problematically nebulous at best and an obstacle to progress at worst.[62] In keeping with this, many prominent transhumanist advocates, such as Dan Agin, refer to transhumanism's critics, on the political right and left jointly, as "bioconservatives" or "bioluddites", the latter term alluding to the 19th century anti-industrialisation social movement that opposed the replacement of human manual labourers by machines.[63]
A belief of counter-transhumanism is that transhumanism can cause unfair human enhancement in many areas of life, but specifically on the social plane. This can be compared to steroid use, where athletes who use steroids in sports have an advantage over those who do not. The same scenario happens when people have certain neural implants that give them an advantage in the work place and in educational aspects.[64]
Currents[edit]There is a variety of opinions within transhumanist thought. Many of the leading transhumanist thinkers hold views that are under constant revision and development.[65] Some distinctive currents of transhumanism are identified and listed here in alphabetical order:
- Democratic transhumanism, a political ideology synthesizing liberal democracy, social democracy, radical democracy and transhumanism.[66]
- Extropianism, an early school of transhumanist thought characterized by a set of principles advocating a proactive approach to human evolution.[33]
- Immortalism, a moral ideology based upon the belief that radical life extension and technological immortality is possible and desirable, and advocating research and development to ensure its realization.[67]
- Libertarian transhumanism, a political ideology synthesizing libertarianism and transhumanism.[63]
- Postgenderism, a social philosophy which seeks the voluntary elimination of gender in the human species through the application of advanced biotechnology and assisted reproductive technologies.[68]
- Singularitarianism, a moral ideology based upon the belief that a technological singularity is possible, and advocating deliberate action to effect it and ensure its safety.[55]
- Technogaianism, an ecological ideology based upon the belief that emerging technologies can help restore Earth's environment and that developing safe, clean, alternative technology should therefore be an important goal of environmentalists.[66]
Many transhumanists believe in the compatibility between the human mind and computer hardware, with the theoretical implication that human consciousness may someday be transferred to alternative media (a speculative technique commonly known as mind uploading).[73] One extreme formulation of this idea, which some transhumanists are interested in, is the proposal of the Omega Point by Christian cosmologist Frank Tipler. Drawing upon ideas in digitalism, Tipler has advanced the notion that the collapse of the Universe billions of years hence could create the conditions for the perpetuation of humanity in a simulated reality within a megacomputer and thus achieve a form of "posthuman godhood". Tipler's thought was inspired by the writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a paleontologist and Jesuit theologian who saw an evolutionary telos in the development of an encompassing noosphere, a global consciousness.[74][75][76]
Viewed from the perspective of some Christian thinkers, the idea of mind uploading is asserted to represent a denigration of the human body, characteristic of gnostic manichaean belief.[77] Transhumanism and its presumed intellectual progenitors have also been described as neo-gnostic by non-Christian and secular commentators.[78][79]
The first dialogue between transhumanism and faith was a one-day conference held at the University of Toronto in 2004.[80]Religious critics alone faulted the philosophy of transhumanism as offering no eternal truths nor a relationship with the divine. They commented that a philosophy bereft of these beliefs leaves humanity adrift in a foggy sea of postmoderncynicism and anomie. Transhumanists responded that such criticisms reflect a failure to look at the actual content of the transhumanist philosophy, which, far from being cynical, is rooted in optimistic, idealistic attitudes that trace back to the Enlightenment.[81] Following this dialogue, William Sims Bainbridge, a sociologist of religion, conducted a pilot study, published in the Journal of Evolution and Technology, suggesting that religious attitudes were negatively correlated with acceptance of transhumanist ideas and indicating that individuals with highly religious worldviews tended to perceive transhumanism as being a direct, competitive (though ultimately futile) affront to their spiritual beliefs.[82]
Since 2006, the Mormon Transhumanist Association sponsors conferences and lectures on the intersection of technology and religion.[83]
Since 2009, the American Academy of Religion holds a "Transhumanism and Religion" consultation during its annual meeting, where scholars in the field of religious studies seek to identify and critically evaluate any implicit religious beliefs that might underlie key transhumanist claims and assumptions; consider how transhumanism challenges religious traditions to develop their own ideas of the human future, in particular the prospect of human transformation, whether by technological or other means; and provide critical and constructive assessments of an envisioned future that place greater confidence in nanotechnology, robotics and information technology to achieve virtual immortality and create a superior posthuman species.[84]
The physicist and transhumanist thinker Giulio Prisco states that "cosmist religions based on science, might be our best protection from reckless pursuit of superintelligence and other risky technologies."[85] Prisco also recognizes the importance of spiritual ideas, as the ones of Nikolai Fyodorovich Fyodorov to the origins of the transhumanism movement.
Practice[edit]While some transhumanists[who?] take an abstract and theoretical approach to the perceived benefits of emerging technologies, others have offered specific proposals for modifications to the human body, including heritable ones. Transhumanists are often concerned with methods of enhancing the human nervous system. Though some, such as Kevin Warwick, propose modification of the peripheral nervous system, the brain is considered the common denominator of personhood and is thus a primary focus of transhumanist ambitions.[86]
In fact Warwick has gone a lot further than merely making a proposal. In 2002 he had a 100 electrode array surgically implanted into the median nerves of his left arm in order to link his nervous system directly with a computer and thus to also connect with the internet. As a consequence he carried out a series of experiments. He was able to directly control a robot hand using his neural signals and to feel the force applied by the hand through feedback from the fingertips. He also experienced a form of ultrasonic sensory input and conducted the first purely electronic communication between his own nervous system and that of his wife who also had electrodes implanted.[87]
As proponents of self-improvement and body modification, including gender transitioning, transhumanists tend to use existing technologies and techniques that supposedly improve cognitive and physical performance, while engaging in routines and lifestyles designed to improve health and longevity.[88] Depending on their age, some[who?] transhumanists express concern that they will not live to reap the benefits of future technologies. However, many have a great interest in life extension strategies and in funding research in cryonics in order to make the latter a viable option of last resort, rather than remaining an unproven method.[89] Regional and global transhumanist networks and communities with a range of objectives exist to provide support and forums for discussion and collaborative projects.[citation needed]
Technologies of interest[edit]Main article: Human enhancement technologies
Converging Technologies, a 2002 report exploring the potential for synergy among nano-, bio-, info- and cogno-technologies, has become a landmark in near-future technological speculation.[90]Transhumanists support the emergence and convergence of technologies including nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science (NBIC), as well as hypothetical future technologies like simulated reality, artificial intelligence, superintelligence, 3D bioprinting, mind uploading, chemical brain preservation and cryonics. They believe that humans can and should use these technologies to become more than human.[91] Therefore, they support the recognition and/or protection of cognitive liberty, morphological freedom and procreative liberty as civil liberties, so as to guarantee individuals the choice of using human enhancement technologies on themselves and their children.[92] Some speculate that human enhancement techniques and other emerging technologies may facilitate more radical human enhancement no later than at the midpoint of the 21st century. Kurzweil's book The Singularity is Near and Michio Kaku's book Physics of the Future outline various human enhancement technologies and give insight on how these technologies may impact the human race.[55][93]
Some reports on the converging technologies and NBIC concepts have criticised their transhumanist orientation and alleged science fictional character.[94] At the same time, research on brain and body alteration technologies has been accelerated under the sponsorship of the U. S. Department of Defense, which is interested in the battlefield advantages they would provide to the supersoldiers of the United States and its allies.[95] There has already been a brain research program to "extend the ability to manage information", while military scientists are now looking at stretching the human capacity for combat to a maximum 168 hours without sleep.[96]
Neuroscientist Anders Sandberg has been practicing on the method of scanning ultra-thin sections of the brain. This method is being used to help better understand the architecture of the brain. As of now, this method is currently being used on mice. This is the first step towards uploading contents of the human brain, including memories and emotions, onto a computer.[97]