When we hear the word “transhumanism,” the imagination usually paints pictures of robots, flying cars, and other fantastic achievements of scientific progress. But what if we dig deeper and say that the roots of transhumanism go much further back than smartphones and drones?
Imagine 17th-century England. It’s rainy, gloomy, tea hasn’t arrived yet, and scientists and philosophers are already trying to figure out how to make life a little better and a little longer. One such dreamer was Francis Bacon. He wondered how to radically extend human life and enhance human capabilities using science. True, the times were such that declaring this loudly was dangerous: the church believed that man was the property of God and any attempts to improve man were blasphemous. What did Bacon do? He wrote “New Atlantis,” a sort of philosophical “novel with a key,” where behind a beautiful allegory, sages secretly work toward the victory over aging and disease. As if to say, “It’s not me; it’s the characters in my book who are so progressive!”
But Bacon was not the only one who decided to outsmart time and the church. Next in line for history was John Locke. He proposed an idea revolutionary for his time: a person belongs only to themselves, and therefore, they have the right to dispose of their own body and life. And it was this principle of self-ownership and personal freedom that became the key to libertarianism and future transhumanism.
This daring idea provided not only a philosophical push but literally changed the world: thanks to it, the first secular state—the USA—appeared, along with revolutionary slogans like “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.” The idea of complete personal autonomy turned out to be not just a pretty phrase for philosophers, but a truly powerful engine of social progress. Thus, a philosophical tradition gradually formed, where Bacon’s ideas about overcoming human limitations merged with Locke’s belief in total human freedom. And these proto-libertarian thoughts, like beads on a string, were threaded onto the fundamental philosophy of transhumanism.
Today, technology has caught up with and even surpassed the dreams of past philosophers. What Bacon dreamed of and what Locke timidly hinted at is becoming quite real today: biotechnology, genetic engineering, artificial intelligence. It seems we stand on the threshold not just of a new era, but literally a new version of the human being.
But here comes a new wave of critics who are in no hurry to celebrate technical progress. Some fear the deepening of social inequality, claiming that the rich will live forever while the poor will only get the crumbs. Some worry about the loss of human identity. And some fear that we might accidentally create a new class of technological elite that will rule over all others.
Well, any great idea always faces criticism, but it is precisely the discussion that makes it alive and active. Transhumanism is not just about technology and science; it is a challenge to our very notion of humanity, a chance to rethink everything we have accustomed to considering immutable: life, death, consciousness, and even who we actually are.
Ultimately, whether we like it or not, transhumanism is already influencing our society, forcing us to ask uncomfortable but very important questions. And who knows—perhaps we will live to see the time when these questions become reality rather than just pages of philosophical books. And then, perhaps, someone will write a novel about us—but hopefully, without the Aesopian language!
For now, let’s observe, ask questions, and dream about what tomorrow will bring us, participating personally and helping biohacker enthusiasts whenever possible. For who knows, maybe right now we are taking the first steps toward a world that Bacon and Locke saw only in their boldest fantasies.
