From: J. R. Molloy (jr@shasta.com)
Date: Sun Oct 03 1999 - 03:25:29 MDT
Glen Finney has written,
>> This is why I am a transhumanist....after all, if what either Julian
>>or
>>J.R. have said about power is true, then what does that say about us
>>transhumanists who seek to stride amonst the stars for eternity?
Indeed, as you say, power may magnify and amplify attributes. But from whence
comes corruption, and why should not humans become transhumans in proportion as
they transcend the corruptible influence of genetics and carbon-based biology?
IOW, genuine transhumanism can mean overcoming the desire for power, or for
anything else. The thoroughly extropic demi-god does not eat galaxies out of
lust for power, but rather out of need for the power of galaxies to sustain the
humble hermitage which contains trillions and trillions of tranquilly creative
transhumans.
Phil Osborn commented,
>We of the West, however, make a virtual leap of faith in assuming that
>objectivity also rules social/ethical/political issues. Thus, we both
>condemn and expect some kind of satisfaction from the politician or manager
>who abuses his position. Not true of Eastern cultures.
The co-worker who becomes a jerk boss always (secretly) wanted to become a jerk
boss. The seed of power-abuse must already reside in the abuser. Power only
provides the opportunity for latent attributes to emerge and grow, it does not
insinuate any value of its own.
If you had a window into the mind of a sleeping saint, you'd see the dreams of a
criminal. Culture does not consist in geography. Algebra works the same in the
East as it does in the West. "Art is Art, water is water, East is East and
West is West. And if you take cranberries and stew them up with applesauce they
taste more like prunes than rhubarb does... Now you tell me what _you_
know." --Groucho Marx
Power cannot corrupt anything, because, as Glen pointed out, it only magnifies
what already exists. What does this say about transhumanists who transcend
desire? It says that only choicelessly aware transhumanists shall discover the
way to that which abides ineffably. It says that in order to stride amongst the
stars forever, you will return to the place where you began, and know it for the
first time. Only stories have beginnings and endings. Reality has no beginning
and no end. <burp>
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