Elevating the Human Condition
Advances in genetics now permit to edit one’s genome relatively easily. Gene therapy is now used exclusively to fix diseases, but could soon be used by transhumanists for genetic enhancement, such as augmenting one’s mental faculties or improving one’s physical appearance. What exactly can we modify and what are the risks involved ?
A hope for a (r)evolution in cognitive control and ability is part of the NBIC paradigm that motivated the creation of h+ magazine
PEARCE: In maybe three or four decades or so, we’ll be choosing such traits as the average hedonic set point of our children. Over time, I think allelic combinations [suites of variant copies of mission-critical genes] that leave their bearers predisposed to unpleasant states of consciousness — unpleasant states that were genetically adaptive in our ancestral environment — will be weeded out of the gene pool.
