Waking up from transhumanist dreams: reframing cancer in an evolving universe

Abstract

Technological dystopias incarnate transhumanist dreams of a this-worldly blissful immortality gone awry. Underlying these worldviews is a globalized technocratic paradigm. One response to these transhumanist dreams is to remind ourselves of how Nature actually works–its origins, constrains, and future. Our relationship with Nature spills over into how we feel standing face-to-face with vulnerability and suffering. In this article I reframe cancer as a journey of maintaining harmony with Nature in an evolving universe instead of a war against death that we are destined to lose. I argue that understanding the natural world helps us come to peace with the reality of cancer, and find opportunities to love in and through vulnerability and suffering. In contrast to transhumanist dreams, being human presents an opportunity to welcome the reality of imperfection, to be liberated from our addiction to technological control, to draw together as a community, and to live the lessons of each stage of our finite life to their fullest. I hope this reflection, grounded in scientific literature and engaging with richly embodied medical humanities readings, can help us all reframe cancer, from books to bench to biotech to bedside.