I stumbled onto a disturbing transhumanist idea I'd rather leave alone. But if I left it alone, it might gain momentum in the transhumanist, singulatarian, um, "community."

While I doubt I'm much of a member of this community, I am certainly more sympathetic to it than I am to its polar opposite -- the Luddites and NeoLuddites who want to halt or retard human technological progress for a variety of reasons.

The idea I don't like is this: certain transhumanist singulatarian types are claiming that men would be better off without their balls.

Yes, I'm afraid a man named "Cybert" has devoted a post to this topic. No armchair eunuch he, Cybert has also had himself castrated:

It was done a few years ago, in my mid 20's. From my understanding of biology, the fact that it was done well after puberty make a big difference. My voice is not any higher. I still grow a beard. I can even still have sex/masturbate. Only difference is no liquid comes out. But libido in general is way down. I find myself thinking of transhumanism a lot more. Not in that it will restore libido virtually, just in that my mind isn't distracted.

I think having yourself castrated is a bad idea, and I disagree with the central philosophical argument (which Cybert offers by way of self-definition):

About Cybert

Eunuch. An important first step to transhumanism.

First, as a practical idea castration is dreadful, for the future will require men of strength (warriors and pioneers), and strength requires testosterone. The effects of castration include loss of physical as well as mental strength, loss of bone density, weight gain, and a whole host of other unpleasant things. As a libertarian, I probably wouldn't intervene to stop any man from doing that to himself, but I certainly wouldn't consider him an appropriate candidate for a space colony!

Practical considerations aside, as a political idea, I think the idea of futuristic castration would only have, well, an emasculating effect!

Imagine, for example, if Andrew Keen, Christine Rosen, and the rest of the NeoLuddites found out about this! Why, they'd probably accuse Glenn Reynolds of seeking to lead an Army not of Davids, but of David's eunuchs.

While it would be unreasonable to accuse Glenn of hegemony through castration, he's been accused of worse things, so I wouldn't put it past them.

My natural inclination is not to write a post about this topic, and to engage in self censorship.

But that's the coward's way out!

And I wouldn't like not having the balls to criticize eunuchs, for what would that make me? A eunuch's eunuch? (A eunuch's bitch, even?)

I must therefore stand up to the eunuchs, and declare that this castrate-yourself-for-the-future idea should be confronted, and rejected, and I don't care what the Luddites think or say!

Besides, if we use simple logic, I think Luddites have to be seen as more on the side of castration -- precisely because of their goal of rolling back history. Castration is one of those old and tired ideas which died out as man made progress.

Far from being a future trend, castration is a barbaric ancient practice -- a form of depraved sexual brutality about as backward as man can get -- something Luddites who would return us to the past would do well to consider.

A number of forward-thinking Roman Emperors -- notably Hadrian -- tried to put a stop to castrations and it's beyond dispute that eunuchs were much hated by ordinary Romans. But the practice wasn't stopped by Christianity, and didn't quite die out in the West until the last of the castrati died early in the 20th century.

I think it's an idea without much of a future.

(At least I hope so.)

MORE: A typical accusation leveled at accused transhumanist/singulatarian "techno-triumphalists" is that they "see robotic solutions everywhere."

(Isn't that better than creating eunuchs to be used as sex slaves?)

UPDATE (07/03/06): Major breakthrough in bionic limbs was announced. Transhumanism is closer than we realize.

UPDATE (07/15/07): Tammy Bruce discusses the latest castration news -- this yahoo story about a ghoulish plan to exhume and study Italian castrato Farinelli. I fail to see how medical science is advanced in any way by studying the skeletal remains of a castrated man, and I agree with Tammy that it's "wrong and completely unnecessary."