Life Extension

10

Alternative Biologies

Rachel Armstrong

Those who have taken upon them to lay down the law of nature as a thing already searched out and understood, whether they have spoken in simple assurance or professional affectation, have therein done philosophy and the sciences great injury for as they have been successful in inducing belief, so they have been effective in quenching and stopping inquiry; and have done more harm by spoiling and putting an end to other men’s efforts than good by their own. (Francis Bacon, 1620) Biology is the spontaneous set of carbon-based self-replicating structures that persist on earth, and conventionally biology has been regarded as an unregulated product of “nature.” Over the last 50 years biotechnology has provided insights into the workings of natural cells that have revolutionized our understanding of what biological systems are capable of. Manipulating these biological processes produces technologies that can directly or indirectly influence human enhancement. Increasingly, researchers are thinking of biological systems as a technology and applying them to address global challenges in the advancement of human development in areas such as stem cell research, cloning, genetic modification, in vitro fertilization, the science of aging, and tissue grafting. Human enhancement can be achieved by direct interventions where the body hosts the technology, such as in the case of neural implants. However, indirect methods in human enhancement are possible, although seldom considered in transhumanist discussions. They draw from the intrinsic relationship that exists between organisms and their environment, which was first described by Charles Darwin and later expressed as an iterative interaction by biologist Richard Lewontin. In modifying the environment, human advancement results from the increasing quality of life that comes from improved living conditions.

The Transhumanist Reader: Classical and Contemporary Essays on the...