ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the ancient dream of eternal youth and explores the post-human philosophy with its concepts of hýbris, 'will to power' and 'medicalization of life'. It shows how the latest developments of science and technology have created, in the collective imaginary, the illusion of a potential conquest of immortality, and the different paths outlined by techno-scientific research on the way to enhancing the human being. The chapter explores the significant complexity and risks of the paths taken by human enhancement technology and some of their paradoxical consequences. Human enhancement technologies are complex and articulated paths, straddling the human dreams of immortality and the need to survive the human condition of mortality. The goal is to enable the human being to overcome mental and physical fatigue, to improve physical appearance, to become more resistant to disease and to increase lifespan.
