You look familiar..Oh that’s right, you’re me only younger, taller and stronger! If the Transhumanists had their way they could single handedly alter the face and body literally of all mankind. According to an article I read recently in a medical publication (it was either that or a 2 year old copy of Chatelaine) Transhumanists believe that ‘The mind is all…the body is for augmentation’. As I understand it, their belief is that the human body we are given is something to work on instead of a place to live. In other words, to reference an old TV show that starred Lee Majors (Farrah Fawcett’s husband) called ‘The Six Million Dollar Man’: “We have the technology. We can rebuild him.” Biologist Julian Huxley, the brother of author Aldous Huxley (Brave New World) was the first to use the actual word ‘transhumanism in 1957. He said that using the advances in science and technology, man can remain man but is capable of transcending himself by realizing new possibilities of and for, his “human nature”. In theory that makes sense but in practice I am more inclined to go along with the following. There is a stunning American, Paralympian/athlete/model/actress by the name of Aimee Mullins who illustrates the best of science and technology coming together to better a life. A double amputee since a child, Aimee has not only conquered her disability but is a firm proponent of a disabled person becoming the architect of his/her own identity. As such, she believes that through augmentation the disabled body need not be deficient but can in fact be empowered. Aimee has been named one of the most beautiful people in the world by PEOPLE magazine and has modelled in the Alexander McQueen fashion show in Europe. In that show, she wore prosthetic legs that were carved of solid ash to resemble boots and no one knew she was disabled. In fact, Aimee prefers to think of herself as ‘super-abled’ as she has 12 pairs of prosthetic legs which result in her height being anywhere from 5’8” (her normal) to 6’1”. Aimee jokes that Pamela Anderson has more prosthetics in her than she does and nobody calls her disabled. I hadn’t thought of it that way.
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