Human Enhancement

The closing question of Sapiens and the bridge to its sequel Homo Deus. Yuval Noah Harari ends Sapiens by arguing that as Homo sapiens’ history nears its end, the final generations should answer “one last question: what do we want to become? This question, sometimes known as the Human Enhancement question, dwarfs the debates that currently preoccupy politicians, philosophers, scholars and ordinary people.” His point is that today’s contests between religions, ideologies, nations and classes will likely disappear along with Homo sapiens itself.

Harari then sharpens the question: because we “might soon be able to engineer our desires too, the real question facing us is not ‘What do we want to become?’, but ‘What do we want to want?’” In the wiki this question is what links Sapiens forward to Homo Deus, which extends the theme into techno-humanism — using technology to upgrade humans into “Homo deus” with enhanced physical and mental abilities.

Context: “Human enhancement” broadly refers to using biotechnology, genetic engineering, pharmacology, and AI to extend or upgrade human physical and cognitive capabilities beyond their natural range — a central theme in transhumanist thought.

Where this appears

• Sapiens — the book’s final question (“what do we want to become?” / “what do we want to want?”), named explicitly as the Human Enhancement question.
• Homo Deus — extends the same question into techno-humanism and the engineering of upgraded humans.