Forum 33 Posthuman dignity and the problem of the body BioLaw Journal – Rivista di BioDiritto, Special Issue 1/2021 Downloaded from www.biodiritto.org. ISSN 2284-4503 Posthuman dignity and the problem of the body Zachary R. Calo Hamad bin Khalifa University, Qatar; University of Notre Dame, Australia. Mail: zcalo@hbku.edu.ga his essay examines the anthropology of transhumanist and posthumanist thought, especially its account of human dignity. Particular attention is given to the place of embodiment within its philosophical worldview. It is argued that posthumanism nec- essarily defines the body as a problem. The body represents a barrier to achieving dignity rather than a site of intrinsic dignity. To become more dignified requires moving beyond the natural in- heritance of the body and even embodiment it- self. The framing of dignity and embodiment within posthumanist thoughts illuminates, in turn, broader ethical considerations within con- temporary biotechnology. The meaning of transhumanism and posthuman- ism is subject to debate and confusion. They both concern broadly the ways in which technol- ogy can be used to change and improve the hu- man body and even human nature. In an oft cited definition, The World Transhumanist Asso- ciation has defined transhumanism as “The intel- lectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally im- proving the human condition through applied reason, especially by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human intellectual, phys- ical, and psychological capacities.” 1 This project 1 N. BOSTROM, Introduction – The Transhumanist FAQ: A General Introduction, in CALVIN MERCER, DEREK F. MA- HER (eds.), Transhumanism and the Body: The World Religions Speak, New York, 2014, 1. might encompass a diverse range of ideas, aims, and technological projects ranging from syn- thetic biology, prosthetics, and genetic engineer- ing, to more fantastical visions of the human fu- ture including the radical extension of life and even the realization of digital immortality. The end point of these enhancements is the posthu- man condition, which might include an evolu- tionarily new species or disembodied forms of being. According to this formulation, transhu- manism and posthumanism are connected in that transhumanism is the process by which the posthuman is realized. Of primary concern is the objective to move beyond the boundaries of hu- man nature so that human beings can evolve from a biological inheritance to a machine-based future – that is, from homo sapiens to techno sa- piens. This line of thought, however fantastical, reveals most clearly the anthropological assump- tions that undergird the transhumanist project. It reveals the premises that shape posthumanist understanding of the body’s meaning and signif- icance. Posthuman dignity is a term most often associ- ated with the work of Nick Bostrom, who has ar- gued that making persons more intelligent, more self-controlled, more immune from debilitation or disease, more liberated from the drudgeries of labor, and even free from the grip of death it- self is to make them more dignified. Bostrom ar- gues that “it is possible that through enhance- ment we could become better able to appreciate and secure many forms of dignity that are over- looked or missing under current conditions.” 2 Technological enhancement, according to Bostrom, offers the promise of human better- ment and a more dignified existence. In this 2 N. BOSTROM, Dignity and Enhancement, https://www.nickbostrom.com/ethics/dignity-en- hancement.pdf (last visited 23/04/2021) T