Transhumanism and post humanism conceive human beings as transitional beings who will be transformed into machines in the near future, so that a machine culture replaces the current form of existence. The thought patterns underlying these ideas raise fundamental questions about human beings and their relationship to the world around them: What distinguishes a human being from a machine? What is the significance of the body as a prerequisite for the ‘I’ experience and its cognitive activity? Another line of questioning is aimed at capacity building. What skills are needed to be able to differentiate the virtual world from the real one? Linked to this is how we learn to deal with technological achievements in such a way that we use them without letting ourselves be used and in so doing, relinquish all responsibility and freedom.

The effects of the transhumanistic understanding of humanity and the world, and the associated digitalisation, can be felt in all areas of life. There is no area that can escape these questions, no research question that remains untouched by them. Thus, from the research project on the humanisation of human beings through literature, in which the topic of the image of the human being is a partial aspect, the question of the aims pursued by the transhumanists has crystallised.

More details on the research project