Superhuman: The Future of Drugs, Bioelectronics, and Genetic Medicine

The next wave of technological change will shape not just our gizmos and gadgets, but our own bodies and minds. Join award-winning historian Michael Bess to learn what to expect from the “Superhuman Revolution.” In the near future, developments in bioenhancement technologies will not only alter how we make a living, communicate, and interact with each other, but will offer direct and precise control over our own physical and mental states. People will be able to sculpt their own selfhood over time, reshaping their bodies, augmenting their cognition, micro-managing their emotions and moods, and reconfiguring their character and personality. In this captivating audio series from Michael Bess, author of Our Grandchildren, Redesigned: Life in the Bioengineered Society of the Near Future, you’ll explore the promise and peril of tinkering with human bodies and identities. In these 28 illuminating lectures, you’ll examine the challenges posed to human civilization by developments in pharmaceuticals, bioelectronics, and genetics. Using an interdisciplinary approach, you’ll tackle a series of provocative questions, including: To what extent can human personhood be modified before it begins to break down? What would be the likely social and cultural consequences if practices of human redesign were to be widely adopted? How much can we control the direction in which science, medicine, and technology are taking our civilization? This course is part of the Learn25 collection.