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Zack Lynch is author of The Neuro Revolution: How Brain Science Is Changing Our World (St. Martin's Press, July 2009).
He is the founder and executive director of the Neurotechnology Industry Organization (NIO) and co-founder of NeuroInsights. He serves on the advisory boards of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, the Center for Neuroeconomic Studies, Science Progress, and SocialText, a social software company. Please send newsworthy items or feedback - to Zack Lynch.
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April 3, 2003

Our Emerging Human/PostHuman Society

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Posted by Zack Lynch

What does it mean to be human?  Francis Fukuyama in Our PostHuman Future claims it's Factor X


"That is, Factor X cannot be reduced to the possession of moral choice, or reason, or language, or sociability, or sentience, or emotions, or consciousness, or any other quality that has been put forth as a ground for human dignity. It is all of these qualities coming together in a human whole that make up Factor X. Every member of the human species possesses a genetic endowment that allows him or her to become a whole human being, an endowment that distinguishes a human in essence from other types of creatures."


I'm not sure I completely agree with this definition, but it is good enough for this discussion. 


As neurotechnology advances, a new set of tools will emerge that will help humans to better control our emotional, cognitive and sensory states.  As these tools begin to influence social interaction, are we really becoming something else, say...posthuman, or are we actually becoming something else....more human?


Human gets my vote.  By providing entirely new ways to accentuate and differentiate those qualities that each of us chooses to decide what makes us human, neuroceuticals will provide humans the ability to experience life unconstrained from their evolutionarily determined neural chemistry.


Emotions, whether you acknowledge it or not, drive most of our decisions. Fear and anger easily bump conscious thoughts out of our awareness. Wishing that anxiety or depression would go away just doesn’t work.


By referring to our common future as a "Human Future,"  rather than our "PostHuman Future" it might be possible to extend the community of interest that would participate in the relevant and important discussions that will shape the boundaries of choice for years to come. 

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