One way or another, people on NS are probably familiar with the notion of evolution - a thing changing in response to its environment. Humans are like other animals in that they evolve genetically, passing on new traits to their offspring (the offspring themselves are formed from a mesh of different traits combined by the parents). Evolution was originally called natural selection - evolution is supposedly natural because it has a discernible relationship to stimuli from the environment. Also because the process occurs in the human's genetics, produced by the activity of the DN and RNA. If you've ever heard about plastic surgery though, then you're already aware: humans have the power to evolve themselves artificial through surgical modification of the individual. It's not that controversial in its provenance as an aesthetic procedure, but surgical modification could be pushed further, to the point where it would push the boundaries of conventional humanity. One example in particular has always haunted me. When I was about 10 years old I watched Spider Man 2 with my cousin. In that movie, Dr. Octopus surgically implants 4 powerful robot arms into his spinal cord to assist him with the precise techniques necessary for cold fusion. When the reaction goes haywire and his control chip is damaged, he becomes permanently stuck with the arms as symbionts who share control of his life despite having added a great deal of power to him. I was obsessed with the idea that he was a new form of life, yet nevertheless still human, a type of branch of the human tree who had artificially added a dark and awe-inspiring feature to his own humanity. But this doesn't have to be the only example! In theory, surgical modification could add inert, normal limbs to people for added strength. We could add additional eyes, multiple heads, armor-plated skin, wings, or who knows what! In this way, we would artificially evolve humanity. A whole different side of this question would be opened by a consideration of brain modification, potentially adding telepathy or extrasensory perception as human abilities. And there is also genetic modification, already underway in many parts of the world, to eliminate congenital disease and improve the life prospects of infants and children everywhere.
What do you think is so controversial about the idea of artificial human evolution, and are you personally for or against it? Would modified individuals still be human, or something more? Is it still within the parameters of ordinary evolution to do so? Although I believe personally it would be little different from the bigger scheme of evolutionary process, my adult self is hesitant to rule on whether or not it be safe or desirable. I believe the first step would have to be reaching a widely agreed definition of humanity and its significance. On that basis, we can identity what kind of modifications would be furthering human nature and which ones would be extraneous or undesirable.
