ABSTRACT

Much that is unprecedented is likely to happen in the metamorphosis. More than a revolution, which changes power structures, values and ways of life, but not the core nature of the human species, the emergence of neogenesis technologies, as presented in the preceding theses, is very likely to impact on the characteristics of humanity as a species. At least parts of the outcomes of the metamorphosis will be completely different from all we can imagine. It is not like a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly. The period of human species metamorphosis, as already in its beginnings, is indeterminate and open-ended. But its results are significantly shaped by what we do or omit. In the natural sciences it is a well-known phenomenon, with caterpillars becoming butterflies being the paradigmatic case. But the emerging human species metamorphosis is different in being human-made, very disruptive and evoking human responses.