Is it possible to curb aging and death: 12 books about transhumanism

Throughout history, mankind has sought to unravel the secret of eternal life, but the concept of transhumanism arose only at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. Trends has collected key writings on the topic over the past decades

“New Bottles for New Wine” by Julian Huxley

Many transhumanists see Huxley, the brother of the creator of Brave New World and The Doors of Perception, as the main inspirer and ideologist of their movement. In 1957, in New Bottles for New Wine, he wrote: “One thing is certain, well-developed, well-integrated personalities are the highest product of evolution, the full realization of everything we know in the universe.”

Cyborg Manifesto, Donna Haraway

The controversial manifesto of a professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz, which caused controversy among representatives of all areas of feminism. It was based on the author’s report “New Machines, New Bodies, New Communities: The Political Dilemmas of Cyborg Feminism”.

“The Evolution of the Mind” by Ray Kurzweil

The central idea of ​​the book is that artificial intelligence will eventually dominate all spheres of people’s lives. In it, the author also reveals the infinite potential of possibilities in the field of reverse engineering of the human brain.

“Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity”, Mark O’Connell

The book is about how biohackers, transhumanists, scientists and billionaires are trying to solve the problem of death with the help of the latest technologies – first of all, artificial intelligence.

“Futurology”, Alexey Turchin and Mikhail Batin

According to the authors, the main driving factor in the XNUMXst century will be the development of three super-technologies: artificial intelligence, nanotechnologies and biotechnologies, which have the potential to radically change the life of society. Also read Alexander Turchin’s interview to the magazine.

“War and 25 more doomsday scenarios”, Alexey Turchin

An overview of the latest scientific developments that describe how and when the existence of human civilization may end. The book tells about all types of global risks known today that can destroy humanity.

“False Blindness” by Peter Watts

A science fiction novel by Canadian biologist Watts explores themes of personality, consciousness, free will, artificial intelligence, game theory, neuroscience and human evolution. Also read Peter Watts’ interview with the magazine.

Robots of the Apocalypse, Daniel Wilson

A book about the rise of intelligent machines and the ensuing genocide and collapse of human civilization. The book was published in 2011 and immediately became a bestseller. Director Steven Spielberg planned to release a film adaptation of it, but the project was subsequently shelved.

«Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology», Eric Drexler

A book about molecular nanotechnology, written in 1986 and reprinted in 2007 as a herald of the coming era of nanotechnology. The author describes the problems associated with the growing potential of humanity in the creation of molecular machines.

Perspectives on Immortality by Robert Ettinger

The book will help compare modern opinion on transhumanism with history. The author was not afraid to question the generally accepted “truths” in 1964, when superpowers were more dreamed of than talked about.

“Our Posthuman Future: Implications of the Biotech Revolution” by Francis Fukuyama

This work suggests that science is not just some powerful unifier that allows us to advance liberal democracy, but also a possible dangerous source of future conflicts. The author is one of the greatest philosophers of our time, the creator of the concept of the “end of history”, according to which the victory of liberal democracies in the Cold War brings humanity to the highest, final point of social development.

“Citizen Cyborg”, James Hughes

The author puts forward the concept of democratic transhumanism, tries to combine biopolitics, economics and a social democratic set of values. He argues that over time, we can come to a happy future if we promise that technologies will be safe and will be available to everyone.