Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Humanity - Trope

Humanity
  • What are the boundaries of being human?  What defines us as human beings?
  • Cyborgs - humans with mechanical parts - limbs, implants. All the way to robotic bodies with human brains - when do they stop being human?  Or do they? Is mechanical percentage a significant marker?
  • What if humans were able to move their consciousnesses onto computers/the internet when they die so they’re effectively immortal.  Are they alive? Are they still human? Is the consciousness still on earth a remnant or the whole personality?
  • What is the future of humanity?  Will we evolve beyond our current forms?  Will we need bodies at all? Will we devolve? Will the definition of humanity change?  
  • What if people’s lives were extended drastically, or they became immortal? How would society adjust?  What would people do with all the extra time?
  • This is a trope that examines the nature of sentience and humanity.
Books
Emergence by David Palmer (also Post-Apocalyptic)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (also Classic, Horror)

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