Re: Some >H working ideas

Delvieron@aol.com
Wed, 17 Mar 1999 20:22:52 EST

Anders,

Thanks for your thoughts. Now, let's see....

"Is really total control the goal?" - This probably would be better stated as,
"The ability to control totally. This doesn't mean you have to constantly be
guiding every autonomic function of the body, but the ability to consciously control them as needed would be very beneficial. If you still have intestines in future (or their posthuman equivelent) you may want to be able to focus your attention on them if there is something unusual going on (hmmm, this new food I ate seems to be triggering some sort of adverse reaction....think I will keep it in until I reach a convenient restroom, then depending on it's state of digestion and level of irritation, decide if it needs to be purged from the system and if so, by which route). This is a strange example, but I can think of some better ones; for example, the ability to control your circulation and basal metabolic rate so as to be able to enter a "hibernation" state at will. And of course, our ultimate goal is to be able to acheive the complete ability to self-enhance at will, for example, you come across a better design for a "digestive" system and you can reconfigure yours accordingly. Isn't this sort of total morphological control one of the possible applications of advanced nanotechnology? So, in summation, I would say yes, I believe Transhumanism does seeks to be able to totally control ourselves, though it is doubtful that we will consciously do so at all times. Even in the example of our current intestines, while I don't have conscious control, my body/brain does its best to maintain control on a subconscious level.

"Or should we come up with another term for that idea to distinguish it, like
'translibertarianism' or something similar?" - Interesting point....I think that in general the idea of not trying to control each other or each other's proximal environment comes under my comment about extreme decentralization, but perhaps it needs to be more explicitly stated? I think of extreme decentralization as being the rule of the self and one's immediate environment. If another forces their will on you, or vice-verse, then you have begun the process of centralization. Of course, if people were ruled in very small groups, such as family units, you could still call that extremely decentralized by today's standards, though not by Extropian standards. So I guess for me, extreme decentralization = self determinism in general, though allows for cooperative, voluntary ventures.

I wrote at the end of my idea of Extropianism, "Maximization of free and copious flows of information and resources." I think I need a better wording for this concept, maybe "Maximization of the production and free flow of resources, such as information, energy, material, etc." Any ideas?

Glen