Editing Transhumanism (section)

===Growth of transhumanism===
See also: [[List of transhumanists]]

The first self-described transhumanists met formally in the early 1980s at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]], which became the main center of transhumanist thought. Here, [[FM-2030]] lectured on his "[[Third Way (centrism)|Third Way]]" futurist ideology.<ref name="FM-2030: Are You Transhuman" /> At the [[EZTV (media company)|EZTV]] Media venue, frequented by transhumanists and other futurists, [[Natasha Vita-More]] presented ''Breaking Away'', her 1980 experimental film with the theme of humans breaking away from their biological limitations and the Earth's gravity as they head into space.<ref name="EZTV Media"/><ref name="Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition: Science Slightly Over the Edge"/> FM-2030 and Vita-More soon began holding gatherings for transhumanists in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], which included students from FM-2030's courses and audiences from Vita-More's artistic productions. In 1982, Vita-More authored the ''Transhumanist Arts Statement''<ref name="Vita-More 1982"/> and in 1988 she produced the cable TV show ''TransCentury Update ''on transhumanity, a program that reached over 100,000 viewers.

In 1986, [[K. Eric Drexler|Eric Drexler]] published ''[[Engines of Creation]]: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology,''<ref name="Drexler 1986"/> which discussed the prospects for [[nanotechnology]] and [[molecular assembler]]s, and founded the [[Foresight Institute]]. As the first nonprofit organization to research, advocate for, and perform [[cryonics]], the Southern California offices of the [[Alcor Life Extension Foundation]] became a center for futurists. In 1988, the first issue of ''Extropy Magazine'' was published by [[Max More]] and Tom Morrow. In 1990, More, a strategic philosopher, created his own particular transhumanist doctrine, which took the form of the ''Principles of Extropy,'' and laid the foundation of modern transhumanism by giving it a new definition:<ref name="More 1990"/>

{{Blockquote|Transhumanism is a class of philosophies that seek to guide us towards a posthuman condition. Transhumanism shares many elements of humanism, including a respect for reason and science, a commitment to progress, and a valuing of human (or transhuman) existence in this life. [...] Transhumanism differs from humanism in recognizing and anticipating the radical alterations in the nature and possibilities of our lives resulting from various sciences and technologies [...]}}

In 1992, More and Morrow founded the [[Extropy Institute]], a catalyst for networking futurists and brainstorming new [[memeplex]]es by organizing a series of conferences and, more importantly, providing a mailing list, which exposed many to transhumanist views for the first time during the rise of [[cyberculture]] and the [[cyberdelic]] counterculture. In 1998, philosophers [[Nick Bostrom]] and [[David Pearce (philosopher)|David Pearce]] founded the [[World Transhumanist Association]] (WTA), an international non-governmental organization working toward the recognition of transhumanism as a legitimate subject of [[scientific inquiry]] and [[Policy|public policy]].<ref name="Hughes 2005"/> In 2002, the WTA modified and adopted ''The Transhumanist Declaration.''<ref name="Declaration" /><ref name="World Transhumanist Association 2002"/><ref name="wsj.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/looking-forward-to-the-end-of-humanity-11592625661|title = Looking Forward to the End of Humanity|newspaper = The Wall Street Journal|date = June 20, 2020|last1 = Kirsch|first1 = Adam}}</ref> ''The Transhumanist FAQ'', prepared by the WTA (later [[Humanity+]]), gave two formal definitions for transhumanism:<ref name="What is Transhumanism"/>

{{Blockquote|
# The intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally improving the human condition through applied reason, especially by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities.
# The study of the ramifications, promises, and potential dangers of technologies that will enable us to overcome fundamental human limitations, and the related study of the ethical matters involved in developing and using such technologies.}}

In possible contrast with other transhumanist organizations, WTA officials considered that social forces could undermine their futurist visions and needed to be addressed.<ref name = "Hughes 2004"/> A particular concern is equal access to [[human enhancement]] technologies across classes and borders.<ref name="Utne"/> In 2006, a [[transhumanist politics|political struggle]] within the transhumanist movement between the [[Right-libertarianism|libertarian right]] and the [[Social liberalism|liberal left]] resulted in a more [[centre-left]]ward positioning of the WTA under its former executive director [[James Hughes (sociologist)|James Hughes]].<ref name="Utne" /><ref name="Among the Transhumanists" /> In 2006, the board of directors of the Extropy Institute ceased operations of the organization, saying that its mission was "essentially completed".<ref name="Extropy Institute 2006" /> This left the World Transhumanist Association as the leading international transhumanist organization. In 2008, as part of a rebranding effort, the WTA changed its name to "[[Humanity+]]".<ref name="Newitz 2008" /> In 2012, the transhumanist [[transhumanist politics|Longevity Party]] had been initiated as an international union of people who promote the development of scientific and technological means to significant life extension that now has more than 30 national organisations throughout the world.<ref>{{cite web |last=Stambler |first=Ilia |title=The Longevity Party – Who Needs it? Who Wants it? |url=http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/stambler20120823 |work=IEET |access-date=August 23, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2012/07/a-single-issue-political-party-for-longevity-science.php|title=A Single-Issue Political Party for Longevity Science|work=Fight Aging!|date=July 27, 2012}}</ref>

The [[Mormonism|Mormon]] Transhumanist Association was founded in 2006.<ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=http://transfigurism.org/pages/about/ |work=Mormon Transhumanist Association |access-date=June 4, 2016 |archive-date=January 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111175720/https://transfigurism.org/pages/about/ }}</ref> By 2012, it had hundreds of members.<ref>{{cite web |title=Member Survey Results |url=http://transfigurism.org/pages/about/member-survey-results/ |work=Mormon Transhumanist Association |access-date=June 4, 2016 |archive-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106221218/https://transfigurism.org/pages/about/member-survey-results/ }}</ref>

The first transhumanist elected member of a parliament was [[Giuseppe Vatinno]], in Italy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kurzweilai.net/italy-elects-first-transhumanist-mp |title=Italy elects first transhumanist MP |publisher=Kurzweilai.net |access-date=April 25, 2013}}</ref>