ABSTRACT
The chapter argues that the present societal conditionings, possibly leading to ‘post-’ or ‘trans-human’ outcomes, must include processes of self-formation as one main vector of change. Through their deep change, persons may come to conceive of themselves as ‘differently human’, thereby perceiving ‘trans-humanizing’ techniques as acceptable and desirable. Such changes are here explored along the dimension of time. In this context, four fundamental tenets of what was once ‘human nature’ are called into question, namely: (i) sequentiality of experience; (ii) locality; (iii) irreversibility; and (iv) conceptions of personal (self-)transcendence. Insofar as cultures – and educators – challenge these tenets, the idea and structure of ‘lifetime’ could change dramatically, and identities could emerge that are fit to live in a ‘post-human’ world. The chapter then argues that such changes must be traced to some features of the morphogenic society, particularly the rapidity of social change and the excess of possibilities of action and experience. These are impinging upon the fundamental need to ‘shape a life’ and bring into question the necessity of selection – i.e. the bulwarks of ‘neo-humanistic’ identity building in a morphogenic societal context.
