Редактирование: Criticism of transhumanism (раздел)

== Dislike of the word "transhumanism" ==
''Main: [[Transhumanist synonyms and closely related terms]]''

Some critics like what transhumanism is trying to accomplish, but dislike the actual word "transhumanism". They feel that the word "transhumanism":

* Is too complicated (it has too many syllables)
* Has potentially undesired associations with "transsexual" or "transvestite"
* Gives the impression of being part of a cult.

Transhumanists can reply that the word has a strong heritage and its own set of positive meanings. Careful explanations of the meaning of the word (as given in the article  [[Transhumanism]]) should reduce the anxiety that is sometimes felt about the word.

The following argument for keeping the word "transhumanism" is given [http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/08/28/singularity_transhumanism_humanity_what_word_should_we_use_to_discuss_the.html by Zoltan Istvan]:

<blockquote>
Singularity. Posthuman. Techno-Optimism. Cyborgism. Humanity+. Immortalist. Machine intelligence. Biohacker. Robotopia. Life extension. Transhumanism.

These are all terms thrown around trying to describe a future in which mind uploading, indefinite lifespans, artificial intelligence, and bionic augmentation may (and I think will) help us to become far more than just human...

This word war is a clash of intellectual ideals. It goes something like this: The singularity people (many at Singularity University) don't like the term ''transhumanism''. Transhumanists don't like ''posthumanism''. Posthumanists don’t like ''cyborgism''. And cyborgism advocates don't like the ''life extension'' tag. If you arrange the groups in any order, the same enmity occurs. All sides are wary of others, fearing they might lose ground in bringing the future closer in precisely their way...

The word ''transhumanism'' has also long been in use, pushed by philosophers like Max More, David Pearce, and Nick Bostrom. However, until recently, it remained mostly a cult word, used by smaller futurist associations, tech blogs, and older male academics interested in describing radical technology revolutionizing the human experience. Two years ago, a Google search of the word ''transhumanism'' — which literally means ''beyond human'' — brought up about 100,000 pages. What a difference a few years makes. Today, the word ''transhumanism'' now returns almost 2 million pages on Google. And dozens of large social media groups on Facebook and Google+ — consisting of every type of race, age group, sexual orientation, heritage, religion, and nationality — have transhuman in their titles...

Why did this happen so quickly? As with the evolution of most movements and their names, there were numerous moving parts. Dan Brown’s international best-seller novel ''The Inferno'' introduced millions of people to transhumanism. So have media celebrities as diverse as Joe Rogan, Glenn Beck, and Jason Silva, host of National Geographic’s ''Brain Games'' — all three have discussed transhumanism in their work. A larger reason probably was that both the public and media were ready for an impactful, straightforward word to describe the general flavor of technological existence sweeping over the human race. In case you haven’t noticed, the dead live via saline-cooling suspended animation, the handicapped walk via exoskeleton technology, and the deaf hear via brain microchip implants. The age of frequent, life-altering science is now upon us, and transhumanism is the most functional word to describe it.

Even though the words ''singularity'', ''cyborg'', and ''life extension'' generate far more hits on Google than ''transhumanism'', they just don’t feel right describing an ideal and accurate vision of the future. Few people are willing to call themselves a Singularitarian—someone who advocates for a technological event that involves a helpful superintelligence. And Cyborgism is just weird, since the public isn't ready to be merged with machines yet. Life extension isn’t bad, but it’s generally limited only to living longer.

Almost by default, transhumanism has become the overwhelming leader of the name rivalry. Around the world, a quickly growing number of people know what transhumanism is and also subscribe to some of it. It has become the go-to futurist term to express how science and technology are upending the human playing field.
</blockquote>

The best alternatives to "transhumanism" may be "H+" or "Humanity+":

* These are simpler words
* They put more prominence on the human core of the ideas.

In practice, [[Humanity+]] denotes a specific transhumanist organisation. "H+" can stand equally well for both "transhumanism" and "Humanity+". That observation is one reason this wiki has the name "H+Pedia".