The Superman Myth and Posthumanism

I teach you the Superman. Man is something that is to be surpassed. What have ye done to surpass man? All beings hitherto have created something beyond themselves: and ye want to be the ebb of that great tide, and would rather go back to the beast than surpass man? What is the ape to man? A laughing-stock, a thing of shame. And just the same shall man be to the Superman: a laughing-stock, a thing of shame. (Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarthustra, translated by Thomas Common, Prologue 3, http://philosophy.eserver.org/nietzsche-zarathustra.txt)

An introduction to this website. This website explores the emergence of the myth of the Superman and its influence on transhumanism and posthumanism. It is the product of students who participated in Dale Sullivan's English 301 class at Missouri University of Science & Technology, spring semester 2011. The class was titled "Posthumanism and the Myth of the Superman."

In this website, you will find background information about how the myth of the Superman developed, what its major tenants are, and how it has been transformed into Posthumanism. You will then be able to read several studies of the Superman/Posthuman written by students in the class.

Some would have us believe that it is our moral imperative to participate in the attempt to produce the the superman, the posthuman, or the transhuman, as Nietzsche's statement above and the video below show:

Others believe producing the "Singularity," computer technology capable of human intelligence (one version of the Superman/posthuman), is a great danger, as this story from NPR shows: The Singularity: Humanity's Last Invention? [8 min 19 sec]. We hope that the material compiled here will help you make up your own mind.