Introduction

Abstract

This chapter introduces the reader to the central themes introduced in the book, beginning with some historical vignettes and insights from the world of science fiction. These themes are introduced to help explain why it can at times be problematic to define what it means to be human or to establish which organisms merit full human rights or full moral standing. Also introduced are the central themes of the transhumanist movement, the notion of artificial lifeforms and the implications for the notion of personhood. Finally, the chapter introduces the concept that some forms of death are potentially reversible as well as introduces the cryonics movement that depends on this particular premise.