Prospects of transhumanist techniques of human enhancement: youth assessments
The article examines the prospects of transhumanist techniques of human enhancements seen through the eyes of Russia's youth. The study is based on field research done in Anadyr, Belgorod, Bratsk, Ekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Kyzyl, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Oryol, Yakutsk and other cities of Russia by a team from Moscow University for the Humanities. The research classified respondents into two groups: those somehow linked to the field of human life improvement (majoring in medicine, biology, biotechnology, etc.) vs. those whose professional identity lies outside of this field (history, sociology, economics, management, etc.) Our study showed that both groups held nearly identical views on the prospects of a number of transhumanist technologies of human enhancement. To an extent, the ones they consider unpromising are those currently being implemented. Qualitative studies of the opinions of medicine majors and graduates of medicine universities, who are doing practical work in the field of human enhancement, have shown that questionnaire responses do not reflect personal views of how promising specific transhumanist technologies are. This is largely due to the respondents' tendency to prioritize mass ideas on human enhancement and its efficiency rather than their own experience.