Moral Transhumanism: The Next Step

Transhumanism aims to overcome human biological limits but raises ethical concerns, including worsening social inequalities and greater capacity for harm. Some thinkers propose moral enhancement to curb these risks, debating its permissibility or obligation in hypothetical terms. This paper argues that psilocybin could serve as a practical tool for moral enhancement and suggests that further research on psilocybin within moral psychology may advance moral transhumanism.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Although transhumanism offers hope for the transcendence of human biological limitations, it generates many intrinsic and consequential ethical concerns. The latter include issues such as the exacerbation of social inequalities and the exponentially increasing technological capacity to cause harm. To mitigate these risks, many thinkers have initiated investigations into the possibility of moral enhancement that could limit the power disparities facilitated by biotechnological enhancement. The arguments often focus on whether moral enhancement is morally permissible, or even obligatory, and remain largely in the realm of the hypothetical. This paper proposes that psilocybin may represent a viable, practical option for moral enhancement and that its further research in the context of moral psychology could comprise the next step in the development of moral transhumanism.