Saving Humanity?: Counter-arguing Posthuman Enhancement

To its advocates, posthuman enhancement represents the pinnacle of what contemporary humanist scientific and technological endeavour can achieve; to its detractors, it has come to represent the fullest realisation of human technological folly. But while it is perhaps unsurprising that such a contentious, emotive and seemingly bi-polar issue has resulted in a scramble to arms, what is a surprise is the frequency of secular humanists to advance arguments based on outmoded and contradictory thinking. To illustrate this point, I have outlined some essential elements of three contemporary counterarguments to posthuman enhancement, noting their obvious pitfalls. I conclude by suggesting that if those who advocate posthuman enhancement are to be engaged successfully then new perspectives and arguments are necessary.