From: GBurch1@aol.com
Date: Sat Jul 25 1998 - 06:51:14 MDT
In a message dated 98-07-20 17:41:26 EDT, Nicholas Bostrom wrote:
> TRANSHUMANISM AS A PHILOSOPHICAL AND CULTURAL VIEWPOINT
>
> What are transhumanism's philosophical and cultural antecedents, and
> how is it distinguished from other, similar ideas?
[ The following is excerpted and adapted from my
introductory essay on transhumanism, found at:
http://users.aol.com/gburch3/thext.html ]
The word transhumanism consciously evokes the tradition of humanism, i.e. the
secular view of man as the "center" of the moral universe. However,
transhumanism goes beyond humanism, because it does not accept some immutable,
fundamental "human nature" as a given, but rather looks to continuing -- and
accelerating -- the process of expanding and improving the very nature of
human beings themselves. In its embrace of humanity's self-transforming and
world-transforming use of technology, transhumanism rejects the pessimism and
more or less explicit moral guilt of modern humanistic thinking.
Transhumanists do not see mankind as a fallen angel, somehow divorced and
alienated from a romanticized "nature", but rather as merely the current
leading edge of a process of progressive evolution in the natural world. The
transhumanist world view is a redemption of the optimism of the Enlightenment
of the 18th Century, a New Enlightenment reinvigorated by a deeper
understanding of consciousness as an integral part of natural evolution.
Rejecting the pessimism that grew out of the Romantic era, transhumanists seek
to apply the core of the scientific method -- systematic doubt -- to all
aspects of human life. In doing so, they reject many of the accepted "truths"
of human life: Limitations on human life span and augmentation, the
unchallenged power of the nation-state and many superstitious conventions
limiting individual liberty.
Starting as they do from a rejection of the traditional humanistic moral
foundation of the idea of an immutable "human nature", transhumanism accepts
the challenge of developing a new moral and ethical framework, one compatible
with the reality of a constantly expanding and changing "nature" of humanity.
Conscious of the potential dangers, physical and moral, inherent in the
Promethean power of transhumanistic technological self-transformation,
extropians see moral issues as fundamental in this age of ever-accelerating
potential. Many transhumanists find that an ethics of reciprocity and respect
naturally develops from their views, harkening back to the wisdom of the
"Golden Rule". In this way, many transhumanists come full circle to
reinvigorate the best of traditional moral philosophy as a guide to living in
a transhuman -- and ultimately posthuman -- world.
> What prominent thinkers are associated with transhumanism?
[I believe we should begin to collect a list of thinkers whose work formed the
antecedents to and foundations of transhumanism, as well as those currently
associated with it. Natasha Vita More's work in this regard should be
invaluable: I know she is working to develop a full-fledged history of
transhumanism. In this regard, I offer a quick list of names off the top of
my head without any attempt at completeness:]
Antecedents:
Pico Della Mirandola
Leonardo Da Vinci
Erasmus
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Jefferson
Charles Darwin
Alan Turing
John Von Neuman
Watson and Crick
Foundations:
Aldous Huxley
Robert Anton Wilson
Ayn Rand
Timothy Leary
FM-2030
Richard Dawkins
Max More
Others
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Orville and Wilbur Wright
Robert Goddard
Robert Heinlein
Current
Marvin Minsky
Hans Moravec
Frank Tipler
> Is transhumanism a cult/religion?
No: It's a rational world view.
Greg Burch <GBurch1@aol.com>----<burchg@liddellsapp.com>
Attorney ::: Director, Extropy Institute ::: Wilderness Guide
http://users.aol.com/gburch1 -or- http://members.aol.com/gburch1
"Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must
be driven into practice with courageous impatience."
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