Transhumanistická koncepcia lásky obecne predpokladá, že by sme mali romantickú lásku transformovať prostredníctvom súčasných možností vedy a techniky. Zástancovia transhumanistickej koncepcie lásky zvyčajne tvrdia, že správna technologická transformácia biologických základov lásky môže vyriešiť niektoré naše súčasné problémy s láskou. Proponenti transhumanistickej koncepcie lásky sa preto zvyčajne domnievajú, že korektná realizácia ich návrhu by taktiež viedla k vylepšeniu romantickej lásky. Hlavný zámer tejto štúdie spočíva v kritickej analýze niektorých filozofických a konceptuálnych nedostatkov, ktoré sú spojené s predstavou, že je vhodné aby pokročilé technológie transformovali lásku. Prvá časť štúdie je venovaná deskripcii filozofie transhumanistickej koncepcie lásky. Druhá časť štúdie je zameraná na analýzu predpokladov transhumanistickej koncepcie lásky. Tretia časť článku je sústredená na problémy prípadného zneužitia transhumanistickej lásky. V poslednej časti štúdie sa pokúsim ukázať, že aj korektná realizácia transhumanistickej lásky môže viesť k dôsledkom, ktoré sú problematické z hľadiska filozofických domnienok o výhodách transhumanistickej lásky. and The transhumanist conception of love broadly states that we should transform romantic love through the means of science and advanced technology. Advocates of the transhumanist conception of love usually claim that the right technological transformation of biological groundings of romantic love could solve some of our current problems with love. Proponents of the transhumanist conception of love therefore typically believe that the correct realization of their proposal would also lead to the enhancement of romantic love. In this study I will, however, argue that this may not be the case. The first part of the study is dedicated to the description of the concept and philosophy of the transhumanist conception of love. The second part of the study is centered on the analysis of the premises for the transhumanist conception of love. The third part is focused on the possibility of misuses of transhumanist love. And in the last part I will try to show that the correct realization of transhumanist love could implicate consequences that may be troublesome for the philosophical assumptions about the benefits of the conception of transhumanist love.
Cílem studie je stručně přiblížit historii eugeniky a zmapovat problematiku novodobé eugeniky, její metodologie a s ní souvisejících technologických, sociálních a bezpečnostních problémů a morálních úskalí. Studie se také snaží rehabilitovat pojem eugenika, který má především kvůli nacistickým zločinům negativní konotaci, a ukázat, že jako vědecký obor má eugenika stále své místo ve vědě. Představeny budou především eugenické metody, jejichž prostřednictvím by bylo možné ochránit lidstvo před vyhynutím, ale které jsou zároveň velice rizikové a k vyhynutí lidstva mohou rovněž přispět. Text se také věnuje nejzávažnějším argumentům příznivců i kritiků novodobé eugeniky. and The aim of the paper is to briefly describe the history of eugenics and to analyze the problems of modern eugenics, its methodology and its associated technological, social and safety problems and moral issues. The paper also seeks to rehabilitate the concept of eugenics, which has mostly negative connotation due to the Nazi crimes, and show, that eugenics still has its place in science. There will be primarily introduced those eugenic methods which may be used to save the humankind from extinction, but which are also highly hazardous and which can also contribute to the extinction of humankind. The text is also focused on the most serious arguments of the supporters and the critics of modern eugenics.
In The Singularity Is Near (2005), pioneering transhumanist Raymond Kurzweil described the end goal of a six-epoch evolutionary cosmogony, claiming that "once non-biological intelligence gets a foothold in the human brain ... the machine intelligence in our brains will grow exponentially ... Ultimately, the entire universe will become saturated with our intelligence. This is the destiny of the universe". A hundred years earlier, Helena Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society, rolled out her own evolutionary cosmogony in The Secret Doctrine (1888), in which the "spiritual nature" of human beings, along with the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, as well as the chemical elements, are all developed through a complex cyclic progression of seven planetary stages, linked together via "rounds" and "chains," culminating in the spiritualization of all matter in the universe. At a glance, it may seem these two conceptual models, separated by years of history, have little to do with one another. Yet as I argue in this paper, the contemporary ideas of transhumanists share the logics of turn-of-the-century theosophists and theosophically informed esoteric groups, albeit in a reductive, materialistic, and technologically deterministic mode. Both intellectual expressions are anchored in a historical context awash in new forms of technology and scientific advancement and therefore share in the utopic hopes and apocalyptic nightmares about the transformation of human bodies and human consciousness. To highlight these similarities, I use three case studies: the Temple of the People in Halcyon, California; the prognostications of Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophical Society; and G. I. Gurdjieff's notion of the "machine man". These case studies point to a link between the logics and use of metaphors in esotericism and transhumanism – the one religious, the other scientific – as well as the application of evolutionary principles to the developing stages of human consciousnesses and the cosmos.
In popular fiction, as well as in theoretical philosophy, often inspired by technological evolution, we often come across the entity of the so-called machine-god. Originating in creation myths, later adapted into the science-fiction and horror genres, the opposition between a synthetic, fabricated creation and its potentially devastating influence on its creator has been approached from multiple angles. With the rise of technological advancement, the idea of a machine capable of surpassing the human in his physical, as well as mental capabilities, becoming thus something greater than humanity itself, has slowly gained in importance. This paper aims to analyze the concept of a man-made machine-god, depicted in popular culture and contemporary scientific theories, and through the perspective of aesthetics and semiotics, compare it to its potential non-fictional parallels. Through analyzing the symbolism of modern depictions, historical discourse, and reasoning behind the subconscious reaction, it aims to analyze the possible interactions between humankind and a god that humankind itself would create.