One - Is Transhumanism a Revitalization Movement?

Summary

This chapter provides a brief history of the Transhumanist Movement in the United States by returning to Anthony Wallace's work on revitalization movements. More than half a century ago, Wallace defined a revitaliztion movement as a “deliberate, conscious, organized effort by some members of society to construct a more satisfying culture.” In this chapter I apply Wallace's model to the contemporary Transhumanist Movement with the aim of exploring how transhumanism is both like and unlike other revitalization movements studied by anthropologists. This exercise enables me to highlight features that have not been flagged in other histories of transhumanist thought. Second, it provides an opportunity to consider how transhumanism is emerging as catalyst of cultural change in the United States. Third, invoking the revitalization paradigm provides a way to recast debates as to whether transhumanism is best understood as a “new religious movement” or a secular response to the disenchantments of modernity. Finally, by returning to Wallace's work this chapter ultimately seeks to demonstrate that models are still good to think with. They help promote comparative modes of inquiry by enabling us to more readily recognize correspondences and differences between social phenonema occuring in different times and places.