The Post-human Distinction

The topic of what makes a post-human came up in the recent meeting and, like any good discussion, no consensus was reached.

A wolf-dog hybrid

Rob brought up a biological distinction: if one group of beings can trace their lineage back to humans, but can no longer reproduce with humans, then they are post-human. In evolutionary terms, this is speciation (like humans from ancient apes); it takes millions of years, therefore irrelevant to my interest. Even if we work hard at it, through selective breeding practices, it would still take many thousands of years. A poodle can breed with a mastiff. A dog can breed with a wolf with little loss in fertility.

What if a group of people have the technology to alter their bodies in a way that they can no longer have reproduce with un-altered humans? If they have the means to do that, then they can certainly find a way to enable what the techies call "backward compatibility". Use artificial sperm or external gestation chambers if they have to.

So what makes someone post-human?

Will enhancements make us post-human? No. Go through the list of comic book superheroes. Which one is post-human? None of them! If you can describe someone as "human with this special ability" then he or she is still human. Even Superman.

This is a man with superpowers.

Being stronger or smarter doesn't make you post-human. Seeing in the dark? No. Can fly? No. Doesn't age? Nope. Teleport? No but getting closer. Shapeshifter? Almost, but not quite. A cat that talks and thinks and acts like a human is not a cat. That's just a human who looks like a cat.

What is human anyway? Describe to an alien what it's like to be human. Tell them what their medical sensors can not detect: the human experience. We see in colors and shapes and shades, hear sounds and tones and words, touch hot and cold and textures; we feel pain and pleasure, smell coffee and the rain. We can love and hate and be sad or happy. We can remember things that happened in third grade English class. We forget to water the plants. We make terrible mistakes and regret them. We can learn and think and imagine, and we can express ourselves in so many ways. That's what makes us human. It doesn't matter if we are made of cells and DNA, or if we are bits of code in the Matrix. The human experience is platform-independent.

This is a post-human. Not her, the blue one.

Dr. Manhattan (from The Watchmen) is probably the most well known example of a post-human in the media. Here he is, having sex with Laurie. He's in two bodies for double the fun! But he's also in the lab working at the same time. He's also on Mars. I can tell you what he's doing, but nobody can tell you what it is actually like to be in those multiple bodies at the same time. You can't even imagine that experience; try it. Oh, he is also in the future and in the past. Not just see the future and the past - anybody can imagine that. The future-self and past-self are all one single perspective. So he's actually having sex with Laurie in multiple time-instants, simultaneously!

Being post-human is about having experiences that can not be shared by regular humans. Try describing Picasso's paintings to someone who has always been blind. Tell a deaf person what a piano sonata sounds like. Futile! Every time we talk, we assume the other person is hearing, thinking, feeling; we just take for granted that they see life mostly in the same way we do. From a slightly different perspective, sure, but most of it is the same. A blind person can still hear, and taste, and get lonely. What happens if a huge part of your experiences can not be communicated to others, because they simply can't comprehend it? You'd be a post-human.

It doesn't mean that you have to give up any human senses or emotions. They would just be a small fraction of your life. Compare a dog's life with mine: we can both run around and get tired; we can both feel hungry or full. I didn't give up any of those animal urges. But I spend my time working, and thinking, and planning. And I can laugh at jokes. If a dog can laugh at jokes, it will be a post-dog.