"Your mind is software. Program it. Your body is a shell. Change it. Death is a disease. Cure it. Extinction is approaching. Fight it."
Transhumans are people who have been artificially enhanced with mental and/or physical abilities beyond what is considered normal for the species from an evolutionary standpoint. Despite the name, species-wide artificial improvement is not actually limited to humans other species or entities that are enhanced count as well. The means used for this augmentation can be anything from magic to science.
Transhumanism as a movement and a philosophy implies that people can, and should, become transhuman en masse rather than be restricted to a select few who came across such abilities through extraordinary circumstances. By implying that scientific progress may grant superhuman powers to anyone with appropriate knowledge and resources, and without any regard for predestination, luck or hard work, transhumanism is notoriously opposed to narrative exceptionalism. A positive portrayal of transhumanism generally places a work on the Enlightenment side of the Romanticism Versus Enlightenment spectrum while a negative portrayal or conspicuous absence of it does the opposite.
Proponents argue that transhumanism is an essential part of our future lives, because...
The opponents also have many arguments to support their views.
Historically, media has not been kind to transhumanists. For a long time, desiring for human improvement has been the province of dictatorial dystopian societies or a Mad Scientist with a God complex. Anarcho-Cyber Punk writers focused on how cybernetic augmentation could be abused to the detriment of society, as well as how it eats people's souls. Religious Moral Guardians object to the idea on the ground of tampering with God's creation (though, ironically, many religions espouse a transhuman plane of existence free from the sinfulness of flesh). And, particularly with the rise of far right and Neo-Nazi movements in recent years, there is the concern that transhumanism can serve as a rebranding of the old Eugenics Movement designed to make it seem more palatable. In fiction, upgrading a human being through science was usually portrayed as a bad idea strictly due to the Squick factor, and even when it wasn't, it was either shown as a Deadly Upgrade with significant disadvantages or a part of an Utopia Justifies the Means plan objectionable on moral grounds.
Curiously enough, as augmentation-based medical therapies gain traction through both in-vivo genetic engineering and advanced prosthetics and improve human lives in ways thought impossible in the past, the criticism has gradually subsided. Today, many would agree that, from a strictly utilitarian standpoint, transhumanism has a great potential to be used for good, with the criticism being mainly aimed towards the implementation and its potential pitfalls and dangers rather than the idea itself.
The word "transhuman" is now found in legitimate scientific and political debates.
For some of the abilities a Transhuman might have, see the Stock Superpowers Index; related to How to Give a Character Superpowers. See also No Transhumanism Allowed. This may be used as an aspect of a Cyberpunk or Post-Cyberpunk setting.
Compare the bermensch,notemeaning "over-man" or "superman" in German whose transcendency is psychological and moral in nature rather than physical.
Sub-Trope of Trans Nature. Mutants and Human Subspecies may or may not be a result of this, and they may be crippled instead of "enhanced". Contrast Formerly Sapient Species. Not to be confused with Transgender people, though medically transitioning is a mild form of real life transhumanist modification.
open/close all folders
Anime & Manga
Comic Books
Fan Fiction
Film Animated
Film Live-Action
Literature
Live-Action TV
Music
'Cause it's gonna be the future soon, I won't always be this way/As the things that make me weak and strange get engineered away...
Tabletop Games
Toys
Video Games
Webcomics
Web Originals
Western Animation
Dr. Gross: Humans have relied on mods for thousands of years. Glasses to let us see better, artificial hearts to replace bum tickers, and the next logical step scissor hands and telescopic spider-legs!
Real Life
Original post:
Transhuman - TV Tropes
- Trans human rights activist named on BBC's 100 Women list - PinkNews - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Life by 2100: Space settlements, education, and the future of warfare - Interesting Engineering - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- Over 60000 Lives Lost To Farmers-Herders Clashes - Speaker Abass - - TVCNews - August 30th, 2023 [August 30th, 2023]
- AI and the potential challenges to human dignity - The Tablet - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- The World Is Toxic. Welcome to the Metabolic Era - WIRED - July 17th, 2023 [July 17th, 2023]
- 12 Movies That Accidentally Predicted the Future (And It's Terrifying) - Startefacts - June 28th, 2023 [June 28th, 2023]
- ChatGPT on Mars: How AI can help scientists study the Red Planet - Space.com - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- How far-right groups like the Oath Keepers are exploiting climate ... - Grist - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Encourage the marginalised to partake in district level elections ... - BusinessGhana - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Everything We Know About The Alien TV Series, FX's Small Screen ... - /Film - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- The First Wave of Applied Transhumanism - Discovery Institute - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Heres Another Transhumanist Dream Come True - Discovery Institute - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Google Co-founder Wants to Build AI as a Digital God - Answers In Genesis - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Hereford candidate warns of 'trans-human revolution' abetted by ... - Hereford Times - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- An Opportunity to Support Aging Research with Gitcoin - Lifespan.io News - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Silicon Valley Is Bad But ByteDance Is Much Worse - The Federalist - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- What is the relationship between wokeism, Marxism, and liberalism? - Catholic World Report - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Transhuman - Wikipedia - January 23rd, 2023 [January 23rd, 2023]
- The Transhuman Revolution: What it is and How to Prepare for its Arrival - January 23rd, 2023 [January 23rd, 2023]
- Transgender, transhuman: technological advances offer increased choices ... - January 23rd, 2023 [January 23rd, 2023]
- Transhuman code | A new initiative that highlights the growing ... - January 19th, 2023 [January 19th, 2023]
- Transhumanism: What It Is, and Why It Is So Fundamentally Wrong - January 19th, 2023 [January 19th, 2023]
- Your Fault: A Climate Crisis Weather Nightmare Before Christmas - January 2nd, 2023 [January 2nd, 2023]
- Martine Rothblatt - Wikipedia - November 25th, 2022 [November 25th, 2022]
- Red Pill University | Beyond the Matrix - November 25th, 2022 [November 25th, 2022]
- China Runs Police Outpost In New York City - technocracy.news - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Trilateral Commission: The secret circle that controls governments - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Steve Jackson Games Forums - Powered by vBulletin - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Elon Musk: Here Comes 'Optimus' - technocracy.news - October 28th, 2022 [October 28th, 2022]
- Biden Builds Transhuman Cyborg Army using Immigrants! - October 28th, 2022 [October 28th, 2022]
- What Is Transhumanism? - Human Life International - October 23rd, 2022 [October 23rd, 2022]
- Ageing is a technical problem that can be reversed, Dubai Future Forum told - The National - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Ai-Da the robot and the myth of AI - Spiked - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam to release a day early in Indian theatres - Ottplay - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- WISeKey Strengthens its Technology Portfolio Across Cybersecurity, IoT, NFT and the Metaverse ... - Ottumwacourier - August 10th, 2022 [August 10th, 2022]
- Madison writer Meghan O'Gieblyn explores the connection between technology and religion - Isthmus - August 10th, 2022 [August 10th, 2022]
- What Happened to Royce White? Mother Jones - Mother Jones - August 10th, 2022 [August 10th, 2022]
- The "resurrection" of the dead pigs, the promise of progress and the source of questions - - News84Media.com - August 10th, 2022 [August 10th, 2022]
- Letter: Criticism of school district plan misleading | Letters To The Editor | newburyportnews.com - The Daily News of Newburyport - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- 12 Best Sci-Fi Games On PS4 And PS5 - Tech News Today - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- Mutants are Coming to the MCU, But Where Does Krakoa Fit In? - Gizmodo - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- Transhumanism to humankind's rescue? A new book claims we face a 'make or break' century, so let the technological remake begin - Genetic Literacy... - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- All Posts - Latest News - McAllisterTV - July 9th, 2022 [July 9th, 2022]
- Chile Bans Discrimination Against Mutants and Genetically Altered ... - July 9th, 2022 [July 9th, 2022]
- Biden Proves Soaring Gas Prices Are Intentional To Transition To ... - July 9th, 2022 [July 9th, 2022]
- The Most Powerful Characters In The Boys Ranked - /Film - July 9th, 2022 [July 9th, 2022]
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Just Showcased One Of Its Most Effective Metaphors Yet - /Film - June 20th, 2022 [June 20th, 2022]
- Fear-extinction and the end of self-loathing in the metaverse - TNW - June 20th, 2022 [June 20th, 2022]
- FDA Making COVID Vax Decision Based on a Study of 10 - Verve Times - June 20th, 2022 [June 20th, 2022]
- 2022-05-16 | NDAQ:WKEY | Press Release | WISeKey International Holding AG - Stockhouse - May 21st, 2022 [May 21st, 2022]
- Russian Colonel threatens Elon Musk, says you will be accountable - Euro Weekly News - May 11th, 2022 [May 11th, 2022]
- Venice Biennale 2022: Man's relationship with the planet gets surreal - Euronews - April 25th, 2022 [April 25th, 2022]
- Venice Biennale 2022: the worst art on show in the city - Art Newspaper - April 25th, 2022 [April 25th, 2022]
- Who is Kwan Ha in the Halo show? Here's the character's story - Win.gg - April 11th, 2022 [April 11th, 2022]
- Top 20 Companies That Rule The Web - technocracy.news - March 29th, 2022 [March 29th, 2022]
- The Brian Jonestown Massacre reveal new album is on the way | Gigwise - Gigwise - March 27th, 2022 [March 27th, 2022]
- WEF Global Risks Report 2022 Imagines ... - technocracy.news - February 17th, 2022 [February 17th, 2022]
- Major LGBTQ+ organisations spark international review of the EHRC - Stonewall - February 17th, 2022 [February 17th, 2022]
- Government to set up Military Base in the Afram Plains - GhanaWeb - February 17th, 2022 [February 17th, 2022]
- The platform for a transhuman future: LABORATORY ... - February 7th, 2022 [February 7th, 2022]
- X22Reports: The Storm is Upon Us, Green ... - Before It's News - February 3rd, 2022 [February 3rd, 2022]
- When hateful words arrive at the door - TheRecord.com - February 3rd, 2022 [February 3rd, 2022]
- Alert over killings of human rights defenders and journalists in the Americas in first month of 2022 - Amnesty International - February 3rd, 2022 [February 3rd, 2022]
- The best of Manfred Thierry Mugler's theatrical, otherworldly fashion - i-D - January 28th, 2022 [January 28th, 2022]
- CEO of Pfizer arrested, charged with fraud media ... - January 19th, 2022 [January 19th, 2022]
- Noah Hawley outlines the big themes of his Alien TV show - Winter Is Coming - January 7th, 2022 [January 7th, 2022]
- Matrix Online may have perished in 2009, but it still exists as a ghost - BollyInside - December 19th, 2021 [December 19th, 2021]
- Will artificial intelligence achieve godlike power? Wallace B. Henry asks, Who Will Rule the Coming 'Gods'? - Denison Forum - December 19th, 2021 [December 19th, 2021]
- Vatican Hosts Conference Touching on Transhumanism - December 10th, 2021 [December 10th, 2021]
- WISekeys Founder and CEO Carlos Moreira was Interviewed by - November 28th, 2021 [November 28th, 2021]
- Doctor Issues Dire Warning to the ... - Technocracy News - November 28th, 2021 [November 28th, 2021]
- Vinegar Syndrome Celebrates Black Friday With Secret Title Reveals and 50% Off Most Releases! - Bloody Disgusting - November 27th, 2021 [November 27th, 2021]
- The Horror Movies Coming to Netflix in December Include 'Tremors' and the 'Final Destination' Films - Bloody Disgusting - November 27th, 2021 [November 27th, 2021]
- ECB survey shows euro zone inflation just below goal in 2022 - Yahoo Finance UK - October 30th, 2021 [October 30th, 2021]
- Succession Returns, with no real people involved - WION - October 21st, 2021 [October 21st, 2021]
- Proof That The Vaxxed Are No Longer Human - Luciferian ... - October 3rd, 2021 [October 3rd, 2021]
- RUBY 9100M x adidas Originals Ozrah Release Info | HYPEBEAST - October 3rd, 2021 [October 3rd, 2021]
- Ming-Na Wen & SNLs Keith Ian Raywood Reflect On 9/11 At Creative Arts Emmys: Twenty Years Ago Completely Changed Our Lives - Deadline - September 12th, 2021 [September 12th, 2021]
- Jeff Bezos is reportedly funding Altos Labs, a new anti-ageing venture aiming to cheat death - Screen Shot - September 10th, 2021 [September 10th, 2021]
- 13 Most Extreme Body Modifications - CBS News - July 27th, 2021 [July 27th, 2021]