From: Mike Lorrey (mlorrey@datamann.com)
Date: Thu Feb 21 2002 - 09:01:07 MST
Richard Steven Hack wrote:
>
> At 11:06 AM 2/21/02 +1030, you wrote:
> > Thus with respect
> >to beings with below human levels of intelligence, which are otherwise
> >rather similar to us (eg: mammals), it is difficult to see where lines could
> >rightly be drawn to grant us rights but deny the same to them. After all, in
> >a context where we are talking about becoming SIs, etc, the difference
> >between a human and, say, a dog, is negligable.
Whether there is a discernable difference to an SI or not is irrelevant.
However, your assumtion on this point is flawed. If an SI is so
super-intelligent, it should be able to discern MORE difference between
human and dog than humans and dogs can.
> Simple. Human do not have rights - and therefore animals have none as
> well. I find rights to be a redundant and effectively useless
> concept. The human race exists in Darwinian competition with itself and
> all other species. Within itself, this need not be the case, but because
> of human stupidity, ignorance, irrationality, maliciousness and fear -
> characteristics I find more defining of the species than Ayn Rand's
> "rationality" - they have in fact made this the case. A Transhumanist
> should accept this and act accordingly. Do not rely on social fictions to
> protect you or anything else.
Thus illustrating the primary divide between extropians and
left-transhumans.
Rights are not social fictions, they are codified expressions of
objective observation of natural, physical law. TO think otherwise is
the height of irrationality.
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