IN SEARCH OF TRANSCENDENCE: THE OXFORDIANS AND THE DEBATES ON TRANSHUMANISM

Abstract

The present text outlines the beginning of the debate around the transhumanist movement in England, in the first half of the 20th century, seeking to understand its main arguments. To do so, we analyze the writings of authors such as Julian Huxley, Haldane and Bernal, who were the founders of contemporaneous transhumanism, contrasting them to the ideas of Tolkien, Lewis and Michael Polanyi, intellectuals linked to Oxford in some way who criticized the movement. Lewis and Tolkien attempted to address the implications of the transhumanist movement, especially through their fictional works (but also in letters and other writings), clearly illustrating to the public the possible consequences of this movement. Polanyi, as a science philosopher, and based on his experience as a scientist, thought about the broader context of the movement’s goals and scientific progress and was also concerned about the planning of science and the emergence of a technocracy. Transhumanist defenders believed that scientific and technological advances should be employed to overcome the limitations of human nature. Critics, on the other hand, argued for caution, since changes could be for the worse, with no chance of turning back, and were skeptical of technological progress. Analyzing these debates helps us understand the development of science and technology throughout that period and allows us to perceive the concomitant ethical clashes, as well as the interrelations between these fields and society, at a time of considerable technological development and new scientific possibilities to improve human biology.