Re: Defining Transhumanism

From: CurtAdams@aol.com
Date: Tue Oct 20 1998 - 18:29:10 MDT


In a message dated 98-10-20 15:04:29 EDT, hanson@econ.berkeley.edu (Robin
Hanson) writes:

>>I'd prefer saying it as "our descendants will be profoundly different from
>>ourselves" rather than as 'no longer be "human"'

>That may be a reasonable strategy of persuasion, but I'm not sure it is
>compatible with the term "transhuman," which seems to directly connote
>something not human.

YMMV, but not to me. I think of "transhuman" as *more* human, in the
desirable
characteristics, or at least many of them. With "transhuman" I think of
"trans-" in
the "beyond" sense, not the "opposite" or "different" sense.

On a different tack, if you want a more precise definition, perhaps you'd want
to use a less loaded and more precise word than "human". A good definition
is precise, but you don't want a definition prone to misinterpretation.



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