From: Max More (maxmore@globalpac.com)
Date: Tue Oct 27 1998 - 21:46:30 MST
At 01:21 AM 10/28/98 +0000, Nick Bostrom wrote:
>
>Here is one more suggestion at about the same level of detail: I
>wonder if not much of the fear surrounding everything to do with
>cloning and genetic engineering goes back to the trauma inflicted on
>our "collective mind" by the Nazi experience. Big taboos were created
>to prevent anything resembling Nazism from ever appearing again. And
>these taboos, or memetic defenses, don't take any risks; they
>attack memes that are not really Nazi if they bear any from of Nazi
>resemblance in the eyes of the unconscious mind of the people.
Nick, I do think the Nazi history is sometimes a source of fear and
resistance. When I spoke at a conference in Germany about integration of
technology into the human being to enhance function, a German women stood
up and strongly hinted that I was a Nazi. This will keep happening to us. I
think it's important, when responding, to stress that we want these
technologies to be available but we are utterly opposed to compelling
anyone to use them. (That's an important reason for having the Open Society
principle.) We may face more difficulties if the day comes when a group of
transhumanists form who *do* want to force everyone to upgrade according to
the groups plans.
Max
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Max More, Ph.D.
more@extropy.org (soon also: <max@maxmore.com>)
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Consulting services on the impact of advanced technologies
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