WHAT IS TRANSHUMANISM PART 3

you can go back to part 1 of What is Transhumanism or part 2 of What is Transhumanism if you missed them.

Space Exploration and Colonization

As mentioned before, our world has limited resources. Humans till now have been restricted to living on the surface of the Earth. Our bodies are specifically adapted to this environment. However if Transhumanist goals are met and people begin living longer populations wil increase and the limited resources of the planet will be stretched thin. One way to deal with the growing lack of elbow room would be to venture out into space. Whether we are alone in the galaxy or just one of similar intelligent life forms it is important for us to ensure the legacy of the human and human-born species by seeding ourselves on other planets. Space colonization will also protect our species from existential catastrophe. Earth's history has many recorded mass extinctions and drastic global changes. Better to seed ourselves on multiple worlds than to "keep all our eggs in one basket." Plus, humanity has always been curious about and eager to explore the great unknown of space. But humans have evolved to living specifically on the surface of the Earth. Our current biological processes such as homeostasis and respiration as well as temperature and atmospheric pressure requirements make space travel and space colonization a big challenge. Terraforming planets to have Earth-like conditions is one option. But evolution has always favored the organism adapting to meet its environment, not the reverse. Therefore, cyborgs that are adaptive to various environmental conditions would be better suited to colonizing space.

Furthermore, traveling through space, even at near light speed, takes a long time to get anywhere. Space faring humans will need to be less affected by the strain and boredom of space travel. Not to mention, a journey of one hundred years or even fifty years isn't conceivable with humanities current aging limitation. Therefore, enhancing the trekking human's bodies with technology proves to be a viable solution to these problems.

The Future of Transhumanism

The future that Transhumanist envision is a world with new existential possibilities once free of the bodily limitations that have restricted humans for centuries. They want to utilize technology to achieve this revolution of the individual, a new state of being. Though ambitious in scope the goals of Transhumanism are acheivable. Still, those who call themselves Futurists, Transhumanist, Extropians and Singularitarians need to face many obstacles in the journey to realizing the dream of a better future. There is much controversy surrounding the concepts proposed by Transhumanists. They must face a broad range of skepticism, ignorance and fear. Many humans fear change and some even have a Luddite mentality that opposes technology in any form. Only through education, activism and the free spread of ideas and research will the cultural climate be improved. Even though Transhumanists want wide spread access to enhancing technology they also want people to have a choice not to be enhanced. This means Transhumans will have a responsibility to those humans who do not want to be altered. Reducing a cultural divide and avoiding an elitism will be important considerations for Transhumanist.

Contemporary Transhumanists need to be well informed about cultural trends and new technology. Scientists and researchers must continue to be connected with peers in other fields of study. The need for activists, lobbyists and educators who can elucidate Transhuman goals will be important. Even now while Transhuman technologies are in development it is vital to secure necessary rights that will ensure the freedoms for all who choose to receive enhancement. Visual artists, musicians, writers, performing artists and bloggers all need to let their imaginations soar in expressing the beautiful possibilities of Transhumanism. So many technologies and cultural changes have manifested due to the work of Creatives. The contributions of Transhuman supporters from all fields will be instrumental to the advancement of the human species. The future awaits. We boldly and consciously decide to make it better.