ABSTRACT
This chapter embraces the topic of human enhancement from a posthuman standpoint, in dialogue with different philosophies, such as posthumanism and transhumanism. Addressing topics such as radical life extension, cryonics, and biohacking, it highlights that enhancement is not a notion that can be conceived in isolation, but relationally and pluralistically: these changes will affect us all. This chapter takes into consideration the possible ripple effects of bio-technological enhancements from the individual perspective to the social, the species, and the planet. It possesses many open questions, including challenging hypothetical scenarios: from the Hitler paradox, which addresses the risks of crediting cryonics as a human right, to the possibilities of being hacked, once becoming a cyborg. The topic of enhancement is inscribed within the geological era of the Anthropocene, the economic paradigm of big data, and the call for existential awareness, according to which the most significant type of existential enhancement we can aim for is to know who we are. A posthuman understanding of enhancement nourishes an integral approach, mindful of the multitude of layers at play. Overall, a posthumanist approach to enhancement must rely on full existential awareness.
