Ewuoso Cornelius, Fayemi Ademola Kazeem
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Western Cape, South Africa.
Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos, Akoka, Nigeria.
Bioethics. 2021 Sep;35(7):634-645. doi: 10.1111/bioe.12902. Epub 2021 Jun 24.
African humanism should be considered more in the theoretical discussion on transhumanism. Using an underexplored humanistic philosophy of Ubuntu, this article shows how the perspective from the global south provides guidelines for pursuing transhumanism without jeopardizing humanism. It argues that heuristics from African (Ubuntu) humanism can serve transhumanist goals. While transhumanism has attracted severe criticisms from bio-conservatives, this article counterargues some salient objections. Drawing on an Ubuntu understanding of humanism, this article posits that the transhumanist vision of the posthuman does not threaten our humanity. Ubuntu humanism is shown to be supportive of transhumanism and can plausibly serve as a guide to protecting transhumanist trajectories from potential abuses. This article concludes that the embedded values of African humanism deserve to be taken seriously in galvanizing global trust in transhuman futures.
在关于超人类主义的理论讨论中,应更多地考虑非洲人文主义。本文运用一种尚未得到充分探讨的乌班图人文主义哲学,展示了全球南方的视角如何为追求超人类主义提供指导,同时又不损害人文主义。文章认为,源自非洲(乌班图)人文主义的启发法能够服务于超人类主义目标。虽然超人类主义遭到了生物保守主义者的严厉批评,但本文反驳了一些突出的反对意见。基于对人文主义的乌班图理解,本文认为超人类主义对后人类的愿景不会威胁到我们的人性。乌班图人文主义被证明支持超人类主义,并且有可能作为一种指导,保护超人类主义的发展轨迹免遭潜在的滥用。本文得出结论,非洲人文主义所蕴含的价值观在激发全球对超人类未来的信任方面值得认真对待。