Human Futures held an intimate and productive seminar on Individuality and Collectivity at Kasernen Friday the 21st of April.The discussions centered on how to tackle the profound changes individuality and collectivity are undergoing these years and how to take on the pressing ethical questions that are bound to arise.

New perceptions of gender confronts age old binary categories of sex and sexual orientation. Lea Skewes enlightened everyone with her study of the sexology clinic in Copenhagen with its imbedded perceptions of gender identity. The clinic’s decision to either help a transgender person with their desired transition or not has a massive impact on the individual’s ability to be the author of their own life. Karin Christiansen emphasized some of the same issues of authorship or agency as she informed us of current technologies enabling expectant parents to modify their prospective baby. Christiansen made it very clear that human enhancement is something we need to address immediately. Lastly, Cathrine Hasse gave a talk on Education and the Posthuman focusing specially on MOOCs and their development of the humanist subjects.

The afternoon laid the grounds for contemplation and reflection on a diverse but equally urgent set of questions.