# Self-Directed Evolution **Domain:** Evolution / Human Enhancement / Technology Ethics **Doc Type:** Concept Node **Maturity:** Developing ## Definition **Self-directed evolution** names the proposal that people could influence inherited human traits intentionally, rather than leaving every change to mutation, natural selection, and drift. It is a prospective program and a family of arguments, not a single technique or an accomplished ability to specify a person's future traits. ## Distinct Routes [[wiki/Embryo Selection|Embryo selection]] chooses among embryos that already exist; it does not edit an embryo or guarantee a complex outcome. [[wiki/Selected Reproduction|Selected reproduction]] includes choices about reproductive partners and assisted reproduction. Genetic engineering or germline editing would instead alter inherited sequence. Education, culture, and technological augmentation also change human capacities, but they need not alter the germline. These routes have different mechanisms, evidentiary limits, governance questions, and effects on the autonomy of future people. In his 1996 “Life in the Universe” lecture, [[wiki/Stephen Hawking|Stephen Hawking]] contrasted the pace of Darwinian change with emerging threats and envisioned deliberate DNA modification. He immediately distinguished relatively tractable single-gene conditions from intelligence and other complex traits. In a PBS interview for *Making Babies*, [[wiki/Lee Silver|Lee Silver]] predicted human control over evolution while also describing unpredictable outcomes and unequal access. [[wiki/Riccardo Campa|Riccardo Campa]] framed self-directed evolution as a transhumanist aspiration in a 2009 essay. These are three related positions, not proof of a shared program or of technical success. [[wiki/John Harris|John Harris]] gives the branch a distinct normative proposition. His 2007 *New Humanist* essay argues that beneficial genetic enhancement could be a moral duty; whether a proposed intervention works and whether it should be pursued are separate questions. His argument should not be flattened into Hawking's forecast, Campa's movement definition, or Silver's ambivalent prediction. ## Boundaries The history of [[wiki/Eugenics|eugenics]] includes coercive state and institutional programs. Contemporary arguments about parental liberty, future-child welfare, access, and enhancement cannot be collapsed into that history, but neither does renaming the program resolve questions of coercion, inequality, disability, or consent. Historical description, philosophical advocacy, present clinical capability, and forecasts should remain separately attributed. ## Relationships - **Historically framed by:** [[wiki/Stephen Hawking|Stephen Hawking]] discussed the tempo and technological possibility of self-design in a 1996 lecture. - **Predicted by, with stated ambivalence:** [[wiki/Lee Silver|Lee Silver]] addressed reproductive technologies, uncertainty, and access in his PBS interview. - **Advocated as a movement goal by:** [[wiki/Riccardo Campa|Riccardo Campa]] summarized a transhumanist orientation in his 2009 essay; [[wiki/Transhumanism|Transhumanism]] is the wider philosophical context. - **Argued as an ethical duty by:** [[wiki/John Harris|John Harris]] defended beneficial enhancement in 2007; his normative position does not establish clinical feasibility for complex traits. - **Mechanistically distinct from:** [[wiki/Embryo Selection|Embryo Selection]] and [[wiki/Selected Reproduction|Selected Reproduction]] are ways of choosing among existing possibilities, not equivalent to reliable genetic redesign. - **Critical contemporary assessment:** [Fyodor Urnov, quoted by *The Wall Street Journal* (2025)](https://www.wsj.com/tech/biotech/genetically-engineered-babies-tech-billionaires-6779efc8), challenges embryo-editing ventures’ disease-prevention rationale; this is his assessment of their aims, not proof of a clinical outcome. - **Historical and ethical boundary:** [[wiki/Eugenics|Eugenics]] carries a documented coercive history that must not be erased or automatically imputed to every later proposal. - **Collection and article routes:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]], [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]], and [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]] situate the human and machine evolutionary trajectories without treating them as identical. ## Simple Reminders, Quotations, and Thoughts > “[The people behind the embryo-editing ventures] are not working on genetic diseases. They are either lying, delusional, or both. These people armed with very poorly deployed sacks of cash are working on ‘baby improvement.’” > **— Fyodor Urnov**, *The Wall Street Journal interview, November 8, 2025* [[reminders/Evolution/Embryo-Editing Ventures Seek Baby Improvement by Fyodor Urnov|Embryo-Editing Ventures Seek Baby Improvement by Fyodor Urnov]] > “As we learn to celebrate our own potential, we will embrace ever-more-dramatic variations in bodily form and in our effective cognitive profiles. The humans of the next century will be vastly more heterogeneous, more varied along physical and cognitive dimensions, than those of the past as we deliberately engineer a new Cambrian explosion of body and mind.” > **— Andy Clark**, *“Celebratory Self Re-Engineering,” Edge Annual Question, 2009* [[reminders/Evolution/Humanity Could Engineer a Cambrian Explosion of Body and Mind by Andy Clark|Humanity Could Engineer a Cambrian Explosion of Body and Mind by Andy Clark]] > "There is no time, to wait for Darwinian evolution, to make us more intelligent, and better natured." > **— Stephen Hawking**, *“Life in the Universe” lecture, 1996* [[reminders/Evolution/We Cannot Wait for Darwinian Evolution by Stephen Hawking|We Cannot Wait for Darwinian Evolution by Stephen Hawking]] > "But we're going to control our evolution. Not nature. Not the environment. We are going to control the evolution of our species." > **— Lee Silver**, *PBS FRONTLINE, “Making Babies” interview* [[reminders/Evolution/We Will Control the Evolution of Our Species by Lee Silver|We Will Control the Evolution of Our Species by Lee Silver]] > "The main idea behind transhumanism can be summarized in a single sentence: it is possible and desirable to switch from blind evolution to self-directed, self-conscious evolution." > **— Riccardo Campa**, *“Transhumanism and Epistemology,” 2009* [[reminders/Evolution/Transhumanism Calls for Self-Directed Evolution by Riccardo Campa|Transhumanism Calls for Self-Directed Evolution by Riccardo Campa]] > “... I argue that it is not only feasible to use genetic technology to make people more healthy, intelligent and longer-lived, it’s our moral duty to do so.” > **— John Harris**, *“Getting better all the time,” New Humanist, November 5, 2007* [[reminders/Evolution/Genetic Enhancement Is a Moral Duty by John Harris|Genetic Enhancement Is a Moral Duty by John Harris]] > “But we are now entering a new phase, of what might be called, self designed evolution, in which we will be able to change and improve our DNA.” > **— Stephen Hawking**, *“Life in the Universe” lecture* [[reminders/Evolution/We Can Start Designing Our Own Evolution by Stephen Hawking|We Can Start Designing Our Own Evolution by Stephen Hawking]] > “The change I expect to see that will most affect human existence will come from biohacking: purposefully altering genomes, tissue engineering, and other advances in biology. Humans are haphazardly assembled biological machines. Our DNA was written by monkeys banging away at... not typewriters, but each other, for millions of years. Imagine how quickly life will transform when DNA and biochemistry are altered with thoughtful intent.” > **— Antony Garrett Lisi**, *“Changes in the Changers,” Edge Annual Question, 2009* [[reminders/Evolution/Deliberate Biohacking Could Transform Human Life by Antony Garrett Lisi|Deliberate Biohacking Could Transform Human Life by Antony Garrett Lisi]] > “In the future, we will be able to determine polygenic traits like height and the genetic component of intelligence.” > **— Jamie Metzl**, *“Would I Genetically Enhance My Own Children?”, 2015* [[reminders/Evolution/Future Embryo Tests May Predict Polygenic Traits by Jamie Metzl|Future Embryo Tests May Predict Polygenic Traits by Jamie Metzl]] > “If there is a discernible duty here it is surely to create the best possible child. That is what it is to act for the best, all things considered. This we have moral reasons to do; but they are not necessarily overriding reasons.” > **— John Harris**, *The Guardian essay, December 2015* [[reminders/Moral Enhancement/The Duty to Create the Best Child Has Limits by John Harris|The Duty to Create the Best Child Has Limits by John Harris]] > “I want to argue that far from being merely permissible, we have a moral obligation or moral reason to enhance ourselves and our children.” > **— Julian Savulescu**, *“Genetic Interventions and the Ethics of Enhancement of Human Beings,” 2016* [[reminders/Moral Enhancement/Enhancement May Be a Moral Obligation by Julian Savulescu|Enhancement May Be a Moral Obligation by Julian Savulescu]] > “All babies should be genetically designed for happiness.” > **— David Pearce**, *Sentience Research interview* [[reminders/Posthumanism/Babies Should Be Designed for Happiness by David Pearce|Babies Should Be Designed for Happiness by David Pearce]] > “The very process of evolution itself is evolving. The infusion of technology into human reproduction - through birth control, embryo screening, and soon genetic engineering - isn't stopping our biological evolution, but slamming it to fast forward.” > **— Gregory Stock**, *Wired, June 2002* [[reminders/Evolution/Technology Is Changing Biological Evolution by Gregory Stock|Technology Is Changing Biological Evolution by Gregory Stock]] > “As I told my class, we've been practicing genetic engineering on animals for the last 10,000 years. Genetic engineering is the foundation of civilization.” > **— Lee Silver**, *PBS Frontline interview* [[reminders/Selection/Animal Breeding Is an Old Form of Genetic Engineering by Lee Silver|Animal Breeding Is an Old Form of Genetic Engineering by Lee Silver]] > “While reproductive and molecular biologists focus on unrelated medical problems -- infertility and disease -- combining their technologies produces reprogenetics, which will allow us to design ourselves.” > **— Lee Silver**, *Taipei Times essay, August 2002* [[reminders/Evolution/Reprogenetics Could Let Us Design Ourselves by Lee Silver|Reprogenetics Could Let Us Design Ourselves by Lee Silver]] > “But in regards human genetic enhancement I think the right to self-determination trumps a lot of those vaguer, long-term concerns.” > **— James J. Hughes**, *IEET interview, 2004* [[reminders/Posthumanism/Self-Determination Can Outweigh Long-Term Enhancement Concerns by James J. Hughes|Self-Determination Can Outweigh Long-Term Enhancement Concerns by James J. Hughes]] > “The real issue is the pursuit of fundamental knowledge and the breaking of the chains of human nature.” > **— Max More**, *“Beyond Caution: The Party of Life,” authored essay* [[reminders/Posthumanism/The Issue Is Breaking the Chains of Human Nature by Max More|The Issue Is Breaking the Chains of Human Nature by Max More]] > “In the case of germ-line enhancements, the potential gains are enormous.” > **— Nick Bostrom**, *“Human Genetic Enhancements,” 2003* [[reminders/Evolution/Germline Enhancement Could Offer Enormous Gains by Nick Bostrom|Germline Enhancement Could Offer Enormous Gains by Nick Bostrom]] > “I mean, I started the company because I wanted to test my own embryos.” > **— Noor Siddiqui**, *Wired interview* [[reminders/Selection/I Started the Company to Test My Own Embryos by Noor Siddiqui|I Started the Company to Test My Own Embryos by Noor Siddiqui]] > “If I can help [my patients] via germline genome editing, I have a moral duty to do so.” > **— George Daley**, *STAT News gene-editing summit report, 2015* [[reminders/Moral Enhancement/Germline Editing Could Be a Duty to Patients by George Daley|Germline Editing Could Be a Duty to Patients by George Daley]] > “Thus, genetic selection will inevitably move towards genetic enhancement.” > **— Peter Singer**, *The Guardian essay, September 2006* [[reminders/Selection/Genetic Selection May Lead to Enhancement by Peter Singer|Genetic Selection May Lead to Enhancement by Peter Singer]] > “We already engage in designer-baby technology now. That is what amniocentesis, preimplantation genetic testing of embryos, and chorionic villus sampling are all about—avoiding unwanted genes either by not implanting certain embryos or aborting fetuses.” > **— Arthur Caplan**, *Free Inquiry interview, 2003* [[reminders/Selection/Designer-Baby Technology Already Includes Embryo Selection by Arthur Caplan|Designer-Baby Technology Already Includes Embryo Selection by Arthur Caplan]] > “I have no moral objection to embryo selection and IVF, and I’m not going to take a position on the effectiveness of screening methods. In fact, I think we have a moral obligation to do what we can to create the healthiest, smartest, and best-looking children possible.” > **— Richard Hanania**, *“Should All Parents Consider Embryo Selection?”, authored essay* [[reminders/Moral Enhancement/Parents May Have a Duty to Seek Better Traits by Richard Hanania|Parents May Have a Duty to Seek Better Traits by Richard Hanania]] > “Biotechnology is providing the means to actually change your genes: not just designer babies but designer baby boomers.” > **— Ray Kurzweil**, *The Singularity Is Near dialogue (2005), Kurzweil Library* [[reminders/Posthumanism/Biotechnology Could Alter Adult Genes by Ray Kurzweil|Biotechnology Could Alter Adult Genes by Ray Kurzweil]] > “But I predict that just like opposition to IVF, objections to the safe genetic enhancement of progeny will fade away and the technologies will be widely embraced later in this century.” > **— Ronald Bailey**, *Reason essay, July 2015* [[reminders/Evolution/Safe Genetic Enhancement May Gain Acceptance by Ronald Bailey|Safe Genetic Enhancement May Gain Acceptance by Ronald Bailey]] > “Americans are apparently, and rightly, more afraid of government interference than they are of designer babies.” > **— Ronald Bailey**, *Reason essay, March 2005* [[reminders/Personhood/Americans May Fear State Control More Than Designer Babies by Ronald Bailey|Americans May Fear State Control More Than Designer Babies by Ronald Bailey]] > “This announcement also marks the first time a company has openly partnered with a couple to help them optimize their embryos based on intelligence.” > **— Kian Sadeghi**, *Nucleus Embryo launch post, 2025* [[reminders/Selection/A Company Claims to Help Select Embryos for Intelligence by Kian Sadeghi|A Company Claims to Help Select Embryos for Intelligence by Kian Sadeghi]] > “Human rights include individual freedom and the right to enhancement and the right never to be coerced to enhance.” > **— Natasha Vita-More**, *The Niche interview, August 2015* [[reminders/Posthumanism/Enhancement Must Never Be Coerced by Natasha Vita-More|Enhancement Must Never Be Coerced by Natasha Vita-More]] ## Sources / Provenance - [Stephen Hawking Estate, “Life in the Universe” (1996)](https://www.hawking.org.uk/in-words/lectures/life-in-the-universe) — lecture transcript; technological forecast, including express limits for complex traits. - [PBS FRONTLINE, Lee Silver interview for “Making Babies”](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/fertility/interviews/silver.html) — interview wording, reservations, and social-access context. - [Riccardo Campa, “Transhumanism and Epistemology,” *Swissfuture* 2 (2009), pp. 18–22](https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/bitstreams/e9b016a3-895d-4471-84c8-111cee1ceb4d) — manifesto-derived formulation presented as a philosophical proposal. - [John Harris, “Getting better all the time,” *New Humanist* (2007)](https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/getting-better-all-the-time/) — authored normative argument about beneficial enhancement.