Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides a rounded perspective of how death and dying are facilitated in a posthuman world, and how that impacts on the furthering of the governance of dying altogether. It looks at death, dying and bereavement in the context of posthumanity, drawing on the many and influential transhumanist perspectives. The book identifies emerging gaps from the unbalanced pace in which technology, medicine and society are progressing. It deals with some reflections and learning points led by the notions of transhumanism, posthuman societies and regulated aspects of death and grief in the 21st century. The notions of posthumanism, transhumanism, antihumanism and metahumanism introduce new materialisms which inform, both directly and indirectly, the way people as individuals and as collectivities experience (social) life. Progressing into posthumanity may be inevitable, yet this comes with a lot of uncertainty.