The transhumanist reader : classical and contemporary essays on the science, technology, and philosophy of the human future / edited by Max More and Natasha Vita-More.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I. Roots and core themes: The philosophy of transhumanism/ Max More -- Aesthetics: Bringing the arts & design into the discussion of transhumanism/ Natasha Vita-More -- Why I want to be a posthuman when I grow up/ Nick Bostrom -- Transhumanist declaration (2012)/ Various -- Morphological freedom - Why we not just want it, but need it/ Anders Sandberg -- Part II. Human enhancement: the somatic sphere: Welcome to the future of medicine/ Robert A. Freitas Jr. -- Life expansion media/ Natash Vita-More -- The hybronaut affair: a menage of art, technology, and science/ Laura Beloff -- Transavatars/ William Sims Bainbridge -- Alternative biologies/ Rachel Armstrong -- Part III. Human enhancement: the cognitive sphere: Re-inventing ourselves: the plasticity of embodiment, sensing and mind/ Andy Clark -- Artificial general intelligence and the future of humanity/ Ben Goertzel -- Intelligent information filters and enhanced reality/ Alexander "Sasha" Chislenko -- Uploading to substrate-independent minds/ Randal A. Koene -- Uploading/ Ralph C. Merkle -- Part IV. Core technologies: Why Fred was the first good AI theorist/ Marvin Minsky -- Pigs in cyberspace/ Hans Moravec -- Nanocomputers/ J. Storrs Hall -- Immortalist fictions and strategies/ Michael R. Rose -- Dialogue between Ray Kurzweil and Eric Drexler -- Part V. Engines of life: identity and beyond death: The curate's egg of anti-anti-aging bioethics/ Aubrey de Grey -- Medical time travel/ Brian Wowk -- Transhumanism and personal identity/ James Hughes -- Transcendent engineering/ Giulio Prisco -- Part VI. Enhance decision-making: Idea futures: encouraging an honest consensus/ Robin Hanson -- The proactionary principle: optimizing technological outcomes/ Max More -- The open society and its media/ Mark S. Mille, with E.Dean Tribble, Ravi Pandya, and Marc Stiegler -- Part VII. Biopolitcs and Policy: Performance enhancement and legal theory: an interview with Professor Michael H. Shapiro -- Justifying human enhancement: the accumlation of biocultural capital/ Andy Miah -- The battle for the future/ Gregory Stock -- Mind is deeper than matter: transgenderism, transhumanism, and the freedom of form/ Martine Rothblatt -- For enhancing people/ Ronald Bailey -- Is enhancement worthy of being a right?/ Patrick D. Hopkins -- Freedom by design: transhumanist values and coginitive liberty/ Wrye Sententia -- Part VIII. Future Trajectories: Singularity: Technological singularity/ Vernor Vinge -- An overview of models of technological singularity/ Anders Sandberg -- A critical discussion of Vinge's singularity concept/ David Brin, Damien Broderick, Nick Bostrom, Alexander "Sasha" Chislenko, Robin Hanson, Max More, Michael Nielsen, and Anders Sandberg -- Part IX. The world's most dangerous idea: The great transition: ideas and anxieties/ Russell Blackford -- Trans and post/ Damien Broderick -- Back to nature II: art and technology in the twenty-first century/ Roy Ascott -- A letter to mother nature/ Max More -- Progress and relinquishment/ Ray Kurzweil.

"The rapid pace of emerging technologies is playing an increasingly important role in overcoming fundamental human limitations. The Transhumanist Reader presents the first authoritative and comprehensive survey of the origins and current state of transhumanist thinking regarding technology's impact on the future of humanity. Featuring core writings by seminal thinkers in the speculative possibilities of the posthuman condition, essays address key philosophical arguments for and against human enhancement, explore the inevitability of life extension, and consider possible solutions to the social and ethical implications and concerns. A multidisciplinary approach to themes of transhumanism reveals the full breadth of the philosophical study of issues relating to human enhancement, human futures, and the advancement and transformation of the human condition." -- Back cover.