Transhumanism and the ethical imperative of preserving and expanding consciousness

Summary

Transhumanism, which advocates radical human enhancement through technology, has been criticized for viewing humanity as deficient and lacking a clear goal. This article proposes that consciousness should serve as the foundation and ultimate purpose of transhumanism. By reframing the movement around the survival and flourishing of consciousness, the approach addresses major objections: it shifts from despair to affirmation, bases dignity on sentience, provides a clear evaluative standard, and recasts concerns about diversity and identity as opportunities for enriched conscious experience. This grounding transforms transhumanism into a principled ethical project.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Background: Transhumanism envisions radical human enhancement through technology. However, transhumanism has been criticised for being rooted in a negative anthropology, treating humanity as fundamentally deficient, and for lacking a coherent telos, leaving it vulnerable to charges of arbitrariness, inequality and loss of identity. Objectives: This article aims to address these criticisms by proposing a new foundation for transhumanism. Specifically, the article argues that consciousness should serve as the root of transhumanism and that the telos of transhumanism should be the survival and flourishing of consciousness. Method: The study reviews leading critiques of transhumanism and evaluates Bostrom’s pluralistic defence of enhancement. Building on insights, the study develops a consciousness-centred framework as a normative grounding for transhumanism. Results: Reframing transhumanism around consciousness provides principled responses to major objections. This approach shifts the foundation from despair to affirmation, anchors dignity in sentience rather than biology, avoids arbitrariness by offering a clear evaluative standard, and reframes concerns about diversity, identity and inequality as opportunities for enriched and plural forms of conscious experience. Conclusion: Grounding transhumanism in consciousness transforms transhumanism from a speculative gamble into a principled ethical project. Contribution: The article makes an original contribution by explicitly formulating consciousness as both the root and the telos of transhumanism. In doing so, the article bridges a gap between critiques of transhumanism’s arbitrariness and philosophical accounts of consciousness, offering a novel and coherent foundation that strengthens the movement’s ethical and existential legitimacy.

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