This article is about the futurist ideology and movement. For the biochemical technique, see
Directed evolution.
The term directed evolution is used within the
transhumanist community to refer to the idea of applying the principles of
directed evolution and
experimental evolution to the control of human evolution.[1] In this sense, it is distinct from the use of the term in
biochemistry, which refers only to the evolution of
proteins and
RNA. Maxwell J. Melhmanh has described directed evolution of humans as the Holy Grail of
transhumanism.[1]
Oxford philosopher
Julian Savulescu wrote that:
Humanity until this point has been a story of evolution for the survival genes - survival and reproduction ... we are entering a new phase of human evolution—evolution under reason—where human beings are masters of their destiny. Power has been transferred from nature to science.
Participant evolution is an alternative term that refers to the process of deliberately redesigning the
human body and
brain using
technological means, rather than through the natural processes of
mutation and
natural selection, with the goal of removing "biological limitations" and human enhancement.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] The idea of participant evolution was first put forward by
Manfred Clynes and
Nathan S. Kline in the 1960s in their article Cyborgs and Space,[20] where they argued that the human species was already on a path of participant evolution.
Science fiction writers have speculated what the next stage of such participant evolution will be.
Whilst Clynes and Kline saw participant evolution as the process of creating
cyborgs, the idea has been adopted and propounded by
transhumanists who argue that individuals should have the choice of using
human enhancement technologies on themselves and their children, to progressively become
transhuman and ultimately
posthuman, as part of a voluntary regimen of participant evolution.
^Stock, Gregory (2005). "Germinal Choice Technology and the Human Future". Ethics L. & Moral Phil. Reprod. Biomedicine. 10: 27–34.
doi:
10.1016/s1472-6483(10)62201-8.
PMID15820004.
^"Manfred Clynes and the Cyborg". by Chris Hables Gray. Archived from
the original on April 19, 2005. Retrieved June 12, 2005. which in turn cites an interview with Manfred E. Clynes in
Gray, Mentor, and Figueroa-Sarriera (1995). The Cyborg Handbook. New York:
Routledge.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link) pages 29–34, which in turn cites
Clynes, Manfred E. & Nathan S. Kline (1960).
"Cyborgs and Space"(PDF). Astronautics. September: 26–27 and 74–75.