Paradoxes and Epistemological Implications of Nick Bostrom’s Transhumanism in Nietzsche’s Genealogical Perspective

Abstract

Nick Bostrom, a transhumanist figure, referred human perfection on three pillars: including super longevity (super long life), super wellbeing (super happy) and super intelligence (super intelligent). This cyborg human model adheres to the epistemology of scientism which he values ​​as anti-traditionalist culture, religious dogmas and metaphysics, but in principle ostrom bases his perfect human model on Nietzsche (Der ubermensch), whereas scientism in Nietzsche's view is a form of religious ideas in a certain degree. This paper attempts to reveal the epistemological paradox of Bostrom's concept of transhumanism through Nietzsche's genealogical philosophy and its epistemological implications. The method used in this research is an epistemological and genealogical analysis on the three main pillars of Bostrom which are the basic foundations of its transhumanism. In this study, it is found first that the Bostrom paradox occurs not only in the misinterpretation of a perfect man, where Bostrom considers the fulfillment of the three pillars, whereas what Nietzsche means is as an independent human being in the sense of two things, namely: able to govern himself and be united or only rely on himself, and not relying on external reality or dogma. The second, paradoxes occur in the belief system of the pillars of Bostrom's transhumanism where he relies on the absolutism of science and negates all assumptions or arguments that come from metaphysics and religion. Meanwhile, what Nietzsche means is to hold on to the relativity of truth where humans will be weak and flawed if they rely on beliefs outside themselves, including science.