ABSTRACT
Over the last several decades, transhumanism has emerged as a significant socio-cultural movement in the United States and beyond. The movement is predicated upon the idea that human beings can use science and technology to significantly enhance their capabilities and overcome many of the limitations of human biology. One of the more notable items on the transhumanist agenda has been the attempt to achieve immortality in avatar form by developing the technology for what is variously referred to as ‘mind cloning,’ ‘mind uploading,’ ‘the transfer of consciousness,’ and ‘whole brain emulation.’ This chapter explores how the transhumanist attempt to achieve immortality in avatar form compares and contrast with the many attempts our species has made to achieve immortality in ancestral form. By juxtaposing the ubiquitous making of ancestors with the making of avatars among transhumanists, this chapter pursues three goals. First, it will illuminate some of the values and beliefs that animate the transhumanist movement. Second, it will provide a clearer understanding of how transhumanists are reproducing and reconfiguring the ways human beings deal with enduring existential dilemmas. Finally, this chapter will demonstrate how conceptions of the afterlife are intimately shaped by the societal conditions from which they emerge.
