From: Samantha Atkins (samantha@objectent.com)
Date: Wed Sep 11 2002 - 19:58:47 MDT
Eliezer S. Yudkowsky wrote:
> Simon Smith wrote:
> > This is great as is, but how about including something even more
> > proactive, supporting the *importance* of difference and variety, such
> > as: "In addition, the Extropy Institute believes that diversity is
> > desirable and leads to increased diversity of thought, which is
> > essential for exploring new avenues of self-creation and
> > self-transformation."
> >
> > If every Transhumanist were of the exact same "race," gender, age, body
> > type and religion, and had the exact same sexual preferences and
> > upbringing, we wouldn't have a very dynamic movement.
>
> I object to this proposed amendment as I'm not sure that difference, for
> the sake of difference, is always rational. There are rare occassions
> when does happen to be rational. But usually "difference for the sake
> of difference", without attention to whether it's a good difference or a
> bad difference, is the aimless product of aimless rebellion.
Are you going to attempt to limit who is and is not part of
transhumanism or extropianism to only those who fully pass your
working view on what is rational? Are we in the business of
judging good and bad differences? The items mentioned were
things like race, gender, age, body type and views on religion,
sexual orientation and the like. I don't see how any of those,
except possibly (narrowly) views on religion, has anything to do
with rationality.
>
> And likewise from the perspective of combating racism, I believe there
> is no value to either racial diversity *or* racial unity; in the face of
> the future race is simply irrelevant. To attempt to value "diversity"
> is to abandon colorblindness.
>
Hardly. Seeing everything has monotone is not the same thing as
full acceptance and welcoming of all persons of like mind
regardless of otherwise different from you they may be.
> If every transhumanist were of the exact same race and body type, I
> don't see how it would make the slightest difference one way or the
> other. How does this supervene on cognition?
>
Cognition is not everything.
- samantha
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