I just recently read a very insightful article on the philsophy of Transhumanism. Kuro5hin had never been on my Blog radar, but will be from now on as I find the posts there insightful and well developed. It's an interesting take on the role of humans in civilized society that critisizes our complete dependency on governing bodies to fullfil our basic needs in life. I would even extend that critisizm to include the various social customs, rules, and regulations (emphasized in some cultures and not in others) that redirect us from discovering our basic, collective needs, most of which are almost always completely removed from the "superficial demands created by modern civilization," as well as make much simplier metrics to our progress.
I recognize the motivation behind such a philosophy, but I disagree with the suggested solution:
whole-hearted embracement of technological advancement. I think as humans in a society that seems increasingly more
like organized chaos than ever before, the proper remedy (from an anthropological perspective) is simplifying our
goals, needs, perceptions, motivations, and interactions. When you get down the essense of the human condition, our
needs have never really advanced beyond Maslow's hierarchy of human needs (and probably never will) and the frantic,
anxious nature of how the average person (especially those in metropolitan societies) lives life is evidence of a
disconnect from a simpler, more fundamental lifestyle.