Super-humanism

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Superhumanism is defined as "the ability of humans to go above and beyond the general expectations and realities of humankind".[ citation needed ] This can be accomplished through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. Historical outlooks on superhumanism are viewed[ by whom? ] as finding the ideal human in physical, mental as well as spiritual form, and has influenced politics, policy, philosophers, scientists and movements.

Contents

Well documented historical applications of this philosophy can be found in the events of Nazi Germany during World War II.[ dubious – discuss ] Modern depictions of this have evolved and are shown through the comic book ideal of superheroes like Superman, or through technologically aided people or cyborgs.

Nazi Germany The German state from 1933 to 1945, under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler

Nazi Germany is the common English name for Germany between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party (NSDAP) controlled the country through a dictatorship. Under Hitler's rule, Germany was transformed into a totalitarian state where nearly all aspects of life were controlled by the government. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich until 1943 and Großdeutsches Reich from 1943 to 1945. Nazi Germany is also known as the Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", the first two being the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and the German Empire (1871–1918). The Nazi regime ended after the Allies defeated Germany in May 1945, ending World War II in Europe.

Comic book publication of comics art

A comic book or comicbook, also called comic magazine or simply comic, is a publication that consists of comic art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by brief descriptive prose and written narrative, usually, dialog contained in word balloons emblematic of the comics art form. Although comics has some origins in 18th century Japan, comic books were first popularized in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 1930s. The first modern comic book, Famous Funnies, was released in the U.S. in 1933 and was a reprinting of earlier newspaper humor comic strips, which had established many of the story-telling devices used in comics. The term comic book derives from American comic books once being a compilation of comic strips of a humorous tone; however, this practice was replaced by featuring stories of all genres, usually not humorous in tone.

Superman Fictional superhero

Superman is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and first appeared in Action Comics #1, published on April 18, 1938.

In philosophy

The philosopher behind the belief of superhumanism believed in the importance of creating a greater meaning in life through individual betterment. Nietzsche - Ainsi parlait Zarathoustra.djvu
The philosopher behind the belief of superhumanism believed in the importance of creating a greater meaning in life through individual betterment.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was a philosopher who challenged Christianity, the traditional ideas of purity, God, afterlife and other things such as morality. Nietzsche was a believer in creating the perfect human, or at least a definition of one. He believed in 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. Nietzsche was often categorized as an existentialist philosopher of his time, and had his hand in the arts, writing, psychologic and social revolution. His later writings gave birth to the philosophy of Übermenschlich or Übermensch, which translates relatively into superhuman or superhumanism. [1]

Friedrich Nietzsche German philosopher

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, philologist, and Latin and Greek scholar whose work has exerted a profound influence on modern intellectual history. He began his career as a classical philologist before turning to philosophy. He became the youngest ever to hold the Chair of Classical Philology at the University of Basel in 1869 at the age of 24. Nietzsche resigned in 1879 due to health problems that plagued him most of his life; he completed much of his core writing in the following decade. In 1889 at age 44, he suffered a collapse and afterward, a complete loss of his mental faculties. He lived his remaining years in the care of his mother until her death in 1897 and then with his sister Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche. Nietzsche died in 1900.

<i>Übermensch</i> concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche

The Übermensch is a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. In his 1883 book Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche has his character Zarathustra posit the Übermensch as a goal for humanity to set for itself. It is a work of philosophical allegory, with a structural similarity to the Gathas of Zoroaster/Zarathustra.

Superhuman qualities are enhanced qualities that exceed those found in humans.

Übermensch

Nietzsche explores the idea of a superhuman, in his writing Thus Spoke Zarathustra. This writing reveals his thinking as 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. [2]

This idea of bettering one's self, for humanity, developed within the philosophy of Nazi Germany. The Nazi philosophy of the master race, revolved around the concept of creating a perfect race, often referred to as the Aryan race. This was projected onto the people as a way of purifying their society, to create a Germanic master race, in which Übermensch became a core philosophy. By creating a philosophy that defined the superior and the inferior human, people began to classify those around them as such. The Nazis believed in the greatness of humans because of the "Polish blood in their veins," and were henceforth able to classify and separate the "inferior." [3] Some Nazi experimentation even included trying to chemically purify and enhance their soldiers. [4]

Master race Nazi idea about how Aryan people are the best

The master race is a concept in Nazi ideology in which the putative Nordic or Aryan races, predominant among Germans and other northern European peoples, are deemed the highest in racial hierarchy. Members of this alleged master race were referred to as Herrenmenschen.

The Aryan race is a racial grouping that emerged in the period of the late 19th century and mid-20th century to describe people of Indo-European heritage.

H. L. Mencken American journalist and writer

Henry Louis Mencken was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians and contemporary movements. His satirical reporting on the Scopes trial, which he dubbed the "Monkey Trial", also gained him attention.

In culture

Art

Nicholas Treadwell is a British artist who wrote the book Superhumanism that was published in 1979 and was followed by Superhumanism 2 in 1982. [5]

Nicholas Treadwell British art dealer

Nicholas Treadwell owns the Nicholas Treadwell Gallery, which started in 1963 in touring vehicles, after which it was run in buildings in London, Bradford and finally Austria. Treadwell has promoted the Superhumanism art movement, which is defined as an art of urban living, conveyed in a vivid and accessible way. At times, his shows have evoked strong reactions for their provocative content. Since 2016 Treadwell lives and works as a gallerist in Vienna's Wieden district.

In the author's own words, the movement is, "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 it's humanist theme." [5] Treadwell used this art movement to emphasize the connection between mundane nature of humans, and the superior characteristics that exist in that simplicity.

Anarchy

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. [6]

Real life

Stan Lee's Superhumans was a television show devoted to finding people around the world who exhibit abilities that exceed normal human capabilities. 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 explores 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.

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 genetics, physical training, and mental conditioning. For example, the highest VO2 max test results ever recorded were from Norwegian cross-country skier, Bjorn Daehlie, who scored a 96 ml/kg/min. The average range for VO2 Max is between 35-40 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min) for men and 27-31 ml/kg/min for women. Another man, Dean Karnazes ran 50 marathons in 50 days in all 50 states in 2006. On February 4, 2015 actor and power lifter Hafthor Bjornsson broke a 1000-year-old record by carrying a 1,433 pound log on his back for 5 steps [7]

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 brains heightened need for achievement.

Science

One modern day method of achieving above average abilities include performance-enhancing drugs; these include substances such as painkillers, blood boosters, stimulants, and anabolic steroids, but can also encompass substances that aren't fully recognized as enhancers such as caffeine, protein supplements, and vitamins. While drugs as a form of achieving superhuman capabilities is a well known concept in fiction, such as films like Limitless and the Marvel Comics character Nuke, in real life the current substances that are known and available don't produce such fantastical abilities. The results from some of these drugs are minimal, and often short term. However, they can still produce detrimental side effects, including many adverse psychological [8] and physiological [9] effects. SARMS and DMAA are safer forms to enhance physical performance. Other forms of enhancement include strengthening the material properties of bone by integrating it with titanium foam. [10] More studies are needed to assess the long term effects of these emerging technologies.

Transhumanism is a philosophy, modern-day movement, and practice that seeks to improve humanity through means such as evolution and cybernetics (see also human enhancement). Fictionalized accounts of this can include the characters from the X-Men franchise (mutants who are seen as "the next step in human evolution"), and also cyborgs such as those found in the Ghost in the Shell franchise. A widespread school of thought, is that transhumanism can include all methods of improving humanity with the goal of ending issues and flaws that have existed for as long as humanity has, but also faces the issues of how far should it go, such as if or when it achieves a state where what exists is no longer human.

Religion

God

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] 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. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

Transhumanism Philosophical movement

Transhumanism is an international philosophical movement that advocates for the transformation of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies to greatly enhance human intellect and physiology.

David Pearce (philosopher) British transhumanist

David Pearce is co-founder of the World Transhumanist Association, currently rebranded and incorporated as Humanity+, Inc., and a prominent figure within the transhumanism movement.

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A super race is a future race of improved humans that it is proposed be 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.

Supersoldier fictional stock character; soldier who operates beyond human limits or abilities

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Superhuman strength ability

Superhuman strength is an ability commonly invoked in fiction and other literary works such as mythology. It is the power to exert force and lift weights beyond what is physically possible for a human. It is a fictionalized representation of the phenomenon of hysterical strength. Alternate pronunciations or descriptions of superhuman strength have included enhanced strength, super-strength, and increased strength. Superhuman strength is an amorphous ability, varying in potency depending on the writer or the context of the story in which it is depicted.

Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche developed his philosophy during the late 19th century. He owed the awakening of his philosophical interest to reading Arthur Schopenhauer's Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung and said that Schopenhauer was one of the few thinkers that he respected, dedicating to him his essay Schopenhauer als Erzieher, published in 1874 as one of his Untimely Meditations.

Outline of transhumanism List of links to Wikipedia articles related to the topic of Transhumanism

The following outline provides an overview of and a topical guide to transhumanism, an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical and psychological capacities. Transhumanist thinkers study the potential benefits and dangers of emerging and hypothetical technologies that could overcome fundamental human limitations as well as study the ethical matters involved in developing and using such technologies. They predict that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label posthuman.

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Posthuman or post-human is a concept originating in the fields of science fiction, futurology, contemporary art, and philosophy that literally means a person or entity that exists in a state beyond being human. The concept addresses questions of ethics and justice, language and trans-species communication, social systems, and the intellectual aspirations of interdisciplinarity.

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Transhumanist politics

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References

  1. ↑ Wicks, Robert (2014-01-01). Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Friedrich Nietzsche (Winter 2014 ed.).
  2. ↑ "Nietzsche's idea of the overman (Ubermensch) is one of the most significant concept in his thinking". ccrma.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
  3. ↑ Ulrich, Andreas (2005-05-06). "The Nazi Death Machine: Hitler's Drugged Soldiers". Spiegel Online. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  4. ↑ "Nazis Tried To Chemically Enhance Their Soldiers". www.rense.com. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  5. 1 2 "Superhumanism | Treadwells". www.superhumanism.eu. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  6. ↑ "Anarchism and Transhumanism". libcom.org. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  7. ↑ "'Thrones' star smashes 1000-year-old weightlifting record". New York Post. 2015-02-04. Retrieved 2015-12-06.
  8. ↑ Trenton, Adam J.; Currier, Dr Glenn W. (2012-08-29). "Behavioural Manifestations of Anabolic Steroid Use". CNS Drugs. 19 (7): 571–595. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.499.948 . doi:10.2165/00023210-200519070-00002. ISSN   1172-7047. PMID   15984895.
  9. ↑ Grace, F; Sculthorpe, N; Baker, J; Davies, B (2003-09-01). "Blood pressure and rate pressure product response in males using high-dose anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS)". Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 6 (3): 307–312. doi:10.1016/S1440-2440(03)80024-5. PMID   14609147.
  10. ↑ "Titanium foam builds Wolverine bones".
  11. ↑ Gier, Nicholas F. (2001-03-01). Spiritual Titanism: Indian, Chinese, and Western Perspectives. SUNY Press. ISBN   9780791492826.
  12. ↑ "Naturalism, Supernaturalism, and Humanism". philosophy.lander.edu. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
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