THE INFLUENCE OF THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICINE ON THE FORMATION OF THE CONCEPT OF THE POSTHUMAN IN THE FUTURE

This article is devoted to the historical and philosophical analysis of the influence of the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, the theory of evolution and eugenics on the formation of modern ideas about the posthuman and transhumanism. The paper examines how changes in the scientific understanding of the world and man that have occurred since the 16th century prepared the intellectual and technological ground for the emergence of the idea of the possibility of radical "improvement" of human nature with the help of science and technology. The article consistently considers: 1) The influence of the Copernican Revolution and the development of anatomy and physiology on changing ideas about man and his body, as well as the formation of a mechanistic view of the organism; 2) The role of Darwin's theory of evolution and social Darwinism in the emergence of the idea of the possibility of targeted change of human characteristics through artificial selection; 3) The history of the eugenics movement, its goals, practices (including sterilization and genocide), ethical and scientific problems, as well as its discrediting after World War II; 4) The connection between historical prerequisites (the Scientific Revolution, Darwinism, eugenics) and contemporary discussions of transhumanism and the posthuman, as well as the ethical challenges associated with new human modification technologies (genetic engineering, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence). The final part of the article analyzes possible scenarios for the development of the posthuman concept in the future, taking into account the lessons of the past and contemporary technological trends. Scenarios of “technological singularity”, “gradual integration” of enhancement technologies, “biocorvatism” and “differentiated development” are considered.