Transhumanism is the focus of the new issue of Mètode

The monograph reflects on what future humans might look like

Issue 111

The monograph in issue 111 of Mètode, published by the University of Valencia’s Vice President’s Office for Research, deals with the science that could allow us to surpass the limits of the human body. As the doctor and researcher Salvador Macip (University of Leicester and UOC), coordinator of the issue, explains, with the help of genetics, robotics, and chemistry, we will soon pose new challenges in our evolution: «The most far-fetched futures can become reality, but this also includes many dystopian alternatives. Therefore, it is important to open an urgent debate to discuss the best ways to face the challenge».

The monograph approaches this debate from various perspectives. The science author Philip Ball brings us closer to the wide range of possibilities for growing living tissues. Chris Willmott (University of Leicester) reviews recent advances in genome editing and brain-machine interfaces. Miquel-Àngel Serra (UPF) discusses the impact of these transformations on people with functional diversity and the need to move towards a global ethical framework. On the other hand, science fiction has always imagined the future. The writer and journalist Pep Prieto takes a closer look at enhanced humans in comics, series, and films. Along the same lines, Emily Klein and Leah Ceccarelli (University of Washington) propose a re-reading of the film Gattaca.

The new issue has had from the collaboration of the artist Marina Núñez, author of the cover and the interior dividers.

Conference and presentation of the monograph

The pandemic has highlighted the fragility of individual and collective mental health. As Rafael Tabarés-Seisdedos (UV) points out in the opening article of the issue, a debate involving society as a whole is also necessary in this area. This ethical and participatory perspective is also present in the interview with Carme Torras (IRI-UPC), mathematician and robotics researcher.

This new issue also features other topics such as Álvaro Martínez‘s approach to the peculiarities of oxygen; Juli Peretó and Jesús Català‘s text on the diffusion of colloidal theory in the origins of biochemistry, and Ignacio Suay-Matallana‘s, on the role of customs and laboratories in the fight against fraud and in guaranteeing public health. Fèlix Edo Tena talks about the present and future of black truffles in the northern regions of the region of Valencia. The issue closes with the journal’s usual sections.

Issue 111 will be presented on 16 December, during Salvador Macip’s conference «Com seran els humans del futur? Promeses i riscos del transhumanisme», which will take place in the La Nau Cultural Centre at 18 h.

© Mètode 2021