Superhuman
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The term superhuman refers to humans, human-like beings or beings with qualities and abilities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. The related concept of a super race refers to an entire category of beings with the same or varying superhuman characteristics, created from present-day human beings by deploying various means such as eugenics, euthenics, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and/or brain–computer interfacing to accelerate the process of human evolution.
Throughout history, the discussion of superhuman traits and the idea of the ideal human in physical, mental, or spiritual form has influenced politics, policy, philosophy, science and various social movements, as well as featuring prominently in culture. Groups advocating the deliberate pursuit of superhuman qualities for philosophical, political, or moral reasons are sometimes referred to as superhumanist.
Modern depictions of this have evolved and are shown in superhero fiction or through technologically aided people or cyborgs.
In philosophy
Nietzsche
The Übermensch or "Superman" was postulated in the later writings of Friedrich Nietzsche as a type of supreme, ultra-aristocratic achievement which becomes possible in the transcendence of modernity, morals or nihilism.[1] Nietzsche believed in creating the perfect human, or at least a definition of one, and achieving this perfection through the enhancement of individual and cultural health, creativity, and power, and that to be a successful human one would focus on the realities of our world, rather than the beyond world, or afterlife.[2]
Nietzsche explores the idea of a superhuman in his work Thus Spoke Zarathustra, in which he discusses the reality of humans existing as just that, and their potential to be more, through risks taken to advance humanity. This belief focuses not on a man who is bettering oneself but instead establishes values which create a meaning to life greater than one person, and positively influencing the lives of others with an overarching goal of humanity. These goals help one overcome life's feeling of meaninglessness.[citation needed]
Transhumanism
In
Human enhancement is an attempt to temporarily or permanently overcome the current limitations of the human body through natural or artificial means. Human enhancement may be through the use of technological means to select or alter human characteristics and capacities, whether or not the alteration results in characteristics and capacities that lie beyond the existing human range.
Some
According to transhumanist thinkers, a posthuman is a hypothetical future being "whose basic capacities so radically exceed those of present humans as to be no longer unambiguously human by our current standards."[5]
Fictionalized accounts of transhumanism include the characters from the X-Men franchise and cyborgs such as those found in the Ghost in the Shell franchise.
Ray Kurzweil
In 2005, the
Finally, predicts Kurzweil, by 2045, because of the operation of
Kurzweil predicts that soon after the "Singularity", the worldwide supercomputer will deploy other humanoid androids and
Artificial intelligence
Superhuman is one of the stages in classification of progress in artificial intelligence where an entity of artificial intelligence performs better than most humans do in a specific task.[citation needed] Examples of where computers have achieved superhuman performance include Backgammon,[7] Bridge,[citation needed] Chess,[citation needed] Reversi,[citation needed] Scrabble,[8] Go[9] and Jeopardy!.[10]
Anarchist philosophy
It is suggested that there is a relationship between the fall of a society and the perfection of mankind. Many economic, social and environmental factors, which all contribute to the sustainability of a society, are built upon the need for a solution to a problem. Superhumanism requires the ability to overcome these problems, either through physical, mental or emotional triumphs of purity and self-actualization. Through the elimination of these problems, many economies and social structures would be collapsed. Also, through advancement in areas such as Transhumanism, some believe that people humans will advance to a point of education and readiness that war will break out between one another, or tyrannies will reign, due to the high levels of advancements being achieved hence correlating with a need for power, eventually leading to an ultimate state of anarchy.[citation needed]
Religious connotations
As a major defining factor of the superhumanism philosophy, humans are expected to possess traits that are considered to be those of high moral grounds, dignity and intrinsic values.[11][page needed] Many people who believe in superhumanism value the importance of independent responsibility in making the world a better, and more moral place. This often means being in, or establishing some sort of spirituality which allows one to follow guidelines and grounds of a moral structure, and achieve a certain level of clarity and purity in their self and their path to righteousness and betterment. Superhumanism is often referred to as a combination between religion and philosophy, which suggests that there should be a correlation between the actions of man, and the patterns of the earth, in which this unity established with God, nature and man can allow for super human feats to become possible.[citation needed]
In history
Nazi Germany
The Nietzschean notion of bettering one's self as an individual was expanded within the philosophy of Nazism to apply to whole groups and nations. Nazi racialist thinkers proposed perfecting the
Homo Galactica
The
Real life examples
Athletics
Many acts performed by elite athletes are seen as superhuman. Elite athletes perform at a level that is perceived as unattainable by normal standards of performance. These are the result of a mixture of performance enhancing drugs, genetics, physical training, and mental conditioning. For example, the highest
Outside of athletics, many people have performed superhuman feats. The Blue Angels flight acrobatics team regularly pulls maneuvers equal to 4-6 times the force of gravity (g), with some turns as high as 8g. One man, Greg Poe, is a pilot who was able withstand turns of 12g.
There are also many stories of people lifting extremely heavy objects under extreme stress, known as hysterical strength. These situations are created when abnormal tasks are completed due to the brain's heightened need for achievement.
Science
One modern day method of achieving above average abilities include
Technology can also be used to improve on human sensory and communication abilities as has been shown through experimentation with nervous system implants.[19] In this way humans can take on senses such as ultrasonics for an accurate indication of distance and communicate much more directly between brains.[20]
In popular culture
Fiction
Speculation about human nature and the possibilities of both human enhancement and future human evolution have made superhumans a popular subject of science fiction. Superhuman abilities are also associated with superhero fiction.
Art
In 1979, the British artist Nicholas Treadwell wrote a book entitled Superhumanism, followed by Superhumanism 2 in 1982. Treadwell defined his movement as "the first people's art movement – a movement, first and foremost, inspired by life, as opposed to inspired by art. It is a movement of art by the people, for the people, and about the people. It is about tolerance and human understanding. Initially, a superhumanist work will move you to feel – to laugh, to cry, to shudder, to be overwhelmed with compassion. They do not include any aesthetic gesture to distract from the vivid nature of the image. A superhumanist work will take a down to earth subject, and use original technical means to exaggerate it, achieving an over-the-top impact of its humanist theme". Treadwell used this art movement to emphasize the connection between mundane nature of humans, and the superior characteristics that exist in that simplicity.
Documentaries
Stan Lee's Superhumans was a television show devoted to finding people around the world who exhibit abilities that exceed normal human capabilities. Daniel Browning Smith, the most flexible man in the world, is an example of a superhuman who travels the world finding physical and mental feats that expand the realm of what humans can do.
Human Body: Pushing the Limits is a Discovery Channel show that explains what happens to people's strength, sight, brainpower, and sensing abilities when placed under extreme stress. These circumstances can lead to short-term superhuman abilities, which allow people to excel in advanced, or impossible tasks.
How to Be Superhuman is a podcast series by Red Bull about people who have gone close to the limits of human endurance.[21] The host Rob Pope, who was described as the "real life Forrest Gump" after running across the United States five times,[22] interviews people who have achieved "superhuman" feats, such as Mark Beaumont, who cycled around the world in 78 days,[23] and Diana Nyad, who completed a 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage at the age of 64.[24]
See also
- Divinization (Christian)
- Metahuman
- Mutants in fiction
- Speedster (fiction)
- Superhuman strength
- Superpower (ability)
- Supersoldier
- Liberal eugenics
- Übermensch
- Posthuman
- Transhumanism
References
- ISBN 9780875862835. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
The word "Superman" as the designation for a type of the highest successfulness as opposed to "modern" men, to "good" men, to Christians and other nihilists.
- ^ Anderson, R. Lanier (2017). "Friedrich Nietzsche". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2017 ed.). Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ Hughes, James (October 2004). "Human Enhancement on the Agenda". Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
- ISBN 978-0470699997.
- ^ Nick Bostrom (October 2003). "The Transhumanist FAQ" (PDF). Humanity+. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 December 2006. Retrieved 27 August 2006.
- ^ ISBN 9781101218884.
- S2CID 8763243.
- .
- ^ Metz, Cade (15 March 2016). "Google's AI Wins Fifth And Final Game Against Go Genius Lee Sedol". WIRED. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
- ^ Rashid, Fahmida Y. (14 February 2011). "IBM's Watson Ties for Lead on Jeopardy but Makes Some Doozies". eWeek. Retrieved 4 July 2018.[permanent dead link]
- ISBN 9780791492826. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- S2CID 87900090.
- ^ "Nazi Racial Science". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
- ISBN 9780814731550.
- ^ Newport, Kyle (4 February 2015). "The Mountain from 'Game of Thrones' Breaks 1,000-Year-Old Weightlifting Record". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- S2CID 32243658.
- PMID 14609147.
- ^ Condliffe, Jamie (23 September 2010). "Titanium foam builds Wolverine bones". New Scientist. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ Daniel, Ari (14 November 2012). "Engineering Extra Senses: Technology and the Human Body". Public Radio International. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- .
- ^ "Red Bull How To Be Superhuman:Athele Podcast". Red Bull. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "'I think I'll go home now'". BBC News. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "Mark Beaumont cycled in 78 days: Podcast". Red Bull. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "Diana Nyad swam from Florida to Cuba: Podcast". Red Bull. Retrieved 12 March 2020.