The term directed evolution is used within the transhumanist community to refer to the idea of applying the principles of

directed evolution Directed evolution (DE) is a method used in protein engineering that mimics the process of natural selection to steer proteins or nucleic acids toward a user-defined goal. It consists of subjecting a gene to iterative rounds of mutagenesis (cre ...

and experimental evolution to the control of human evolution. In this sense, it is distinct from the use of the term in

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

, which refers only to the evolution of

proteins Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

and

RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation and expression of genes. RNA and deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) are nucleic acids. Along with lipids, proteins, and carbohydra ...

. Maxwell J. Melhmanh has described directed evolution of humans as the Holy Grail of

transhumanism Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement which advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies that can greatly enhance longevity and cognition. Transhuma ...

. Oxford philosopher

Julian Savulescu Julian Savulescu (born 22 December 1963) is an Australian philosopher and bioethicist of Romanian origins. He is Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford, director of the Oxford Uehiro Cen ...

wrote that: According to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

biophysicist

Gregory Stock Gregory Stock is a biophysicist, best-selling author, biotech entrepreneur, and the former director of the Program on Medicine, Technology and Society at UCLA’s School of Medicine. His interests lie in the scientific and evolutionary as well as ...

: Riccardo Campa, from the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, wrote that "self-directed evolution" can be coupled with many different political, philosophical, and religious views.

Criticism of the term

Andrew Askland, from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law claims that referring to

as directed evolution is problematic because evolution is ateleological and transhumanism is teleological.

Participant evolution

Participant evolution is an alternative term that refers to the process of deliberately redesigning the

human body The human body is the structure of a Human, human being. It is composed of many different types of Cell (biology), cells that together create Tissue (biology), tissues and subsequently organ systems. They ensure homeostasis and the life, viabi ...

and

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...

using technological means, rather than through the natural processes of

mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, mi ...

and

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charle ...

, with the goal of removing "biological limitations" and human enhancement. The idea of participant evolution was first put forward by

Manfred Clynes Manfred Edward Clynes (August 14, 1925 – January 19, 2020) was an Austrian-born scientist, inventor, and musician. He is best known for his innovations and discoveries in the interpretation of music, and for his contributions to the study of ...

and

Nathan S. Kline Nathan Schellenberg Kline, M.D. (March 22, 1916 – February 11, 1983) was an American scientist, researcher in the field of psychology and psychiatrist best known for his work with psychopharmacologic drugs. Having been influential in the deve ...

in the 1960s in their article ''Cyborgs and Space'', where they argued that the human species was already on a path of participant evolution.

Science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

writers have speculated what the next stage of such participant evolution will be. Whilst Clynes and Kline saw participant evolution as the process of creating cyborgs, the idea has been adopted and propounded by

transhumanists Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement which advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies that can greatly enhance longevity and cognition. Transhuma ...

who argue that individuals should have the choice of using human enhancement technologies on themselves and their children, to progressively become

transhuman Transhuman, or trans-human, is the concept of an intermediary form between human and posthuman. In other words, a transhuman is a being that resembles a human in most respects but who has powers and abilities beyond those of standard humans. The ...

and ultimately

posthuman Posthuman or post-human is a concept originating in the fields of science fiction, futurology, contemporary art, and philosophy that means a person or entity that exists in a state beyond being human. The concept aims at addressing a variety of ...

, as part of a voluntary regimen of participant evolution.

References

Transhumanism Evolution {{Future-stub

Criticism of the term

Participant evolution

See also

References