[extropy-chat] Extropy Institute Announces the Vital Progress Summit I (VP1)
Mike Lorrey
mlorrey at yahoo.com
Thu Jan 8 16:51:44 UTC 2004
The links direct IE to my yahoo login, not to any ExI login.
--- Extropy Institute <exi-info at extropy.org> wrote:
> Extropy Institute Announces the upcoming 2004 Summit
> VITAL PROGRESS ("VP") (01.07.04)
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Greetings!
>
> Recent and accelerating scientific advances may have
> you excited about extropic goals of extended life,
> heightened intelligence, and so on. But hold on! The
> forces of reaction are surging and we need to respond
> now. Extropy Institute is well into the planning process
> for the upcoming Vital Progress Summit, set for
> February 2004. In this newsletter, we explain why this
> Summit is needed so urgently, how it will work, what
> we aim to accomplish, and who we expect to
> participate.
>
> The Summit is ExI's proactive response to three
> disturbing pivotal developments: <i>Beyond
> Therapy</i> - the
> report of
> the US President's Council on Bioethics headed by arch-
> bioconservative and neophobe Leon Kass (and including
> avowed anti-posthuman Francis Fukuyama); <i>The
> New
> Atlantis</i> publication - a high-powered rallying point
> for
> the neo-Luddites; and the <b>Precautionary
> Principle</b> - a
> idea being adopted by a diverse array of interest
> groups devoted to blocking the fundamental
> technological advances crucial to our survival and to
> our extropic goals of overcoming human limits.
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> In this issue: ExI VITAL PROGRESS ("VP") Summit scheduled for
> February, 2004; and Welcome to Honorary Advisor -Prof. Tom W. Bell
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> * Killer Quotes!
> * <b>The Surging Threat to Extropic Advance</b>
> * <b>About the "VP" Summit</b>
>
> * <b>ExI Welcomes its Honorary Advisor</b>
>
>
> Killer Quotes!
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> "The finitude of human life is a blessing for every
> individual, whether he knows it or not." And: "The
> immortals cannot be noble." -- Leon Kass, chairman of
> the President's Council on Bioethics
>
> "The worst possible way to resolve [the question of life
> extension] is to leave it up to individual choice. There is
> no known social good coming from the conquest of
> death." - Daniel Callahan
>
> "The whole effort to defeat death, it seems to me, is a
> kind of striving that speaks of a kind of serious lack of a
> certain kind of moral perspective. - Francis Fukuyama
>
> "The pursuit of perfect bodies and further life extension
> will deflect us from realizing more fully the aspirations
> to which our lives naturally point, from living well rather
> than merely staying alive." - Leon Kass in The
> Washington Post
>
>
>
> <b>The Surging Threat to Extropic Advance</b>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Throughout history the forces of advancement have
> struggled against the reactionary forces of stasis.
> Europe suffered a thousand years of zero progress
> during the Dark Ages. The Renaissance and
> Enlightenment finally broke through that grim era. We
> transhumanists are the heirs to the Enlightenment
> values of perpetual progress for humanity based in
> science and creativity. Recent years have seen
> numerous developments that are showing the culture at
> large the realism of our extropic goals of extended
> healthy life, enhanced intelligence, refined emotions,
> and the ever-extending ability to take control of our
> form and fate. But now we face an unprecedented
> convergence of groups intent on using direct action
> and global legislation to halt humanity's progress.
>
> One of the most remarkable and worrying developments
> is the presidential-level bioethics council. This council,
> led by Leon Kass (once an opponent of in vitro
> fertilization) has published a report, <I>Beyond
> Therapy</I>
> that takes very seriously issues at the core of our
> extropic values and goals. From the preface to the
> report:
>
> "In keeping with our mission, we have undertaken an
> inquiry into the potential implications of using
> biotechnology "beyond therapy," in order to try to
> satisfy deep and familiar human desires: for better
> children, superior performance, ageless bodies, and
> happy souls. Such uses of biotechnology, some of
> which are now possible and some of which may become
> possible in the future, are likely to present us with
> profound and highly consequential ethical challenges
> and choices. They may play a crucial role in shaping
> human experience in the fast-approaching age of
> biotechnology."
>
> Backing Kass's council of intellectual clones,
> marching to the same anti-transhumanist, anti-biotech
> beat, are other numerous and organized voices. Their
> favored watering hole - the forum that gathers and
> disseminates their vitality-sapping fulminations of fear
> and faith is <i>The New Atlantis</i>. Appropriately
> named
> after the Platonic fantasy of a perfect unchanging
> society now lost to the world, this publication aims to
> shape "the nation's moral and political understanding of
> all areas of technology" in a way deadly to extropic
> ideals and aspirations. Many other groups are getting in
> on the act through the vehicle of the sensible-sounding
> <b>Precautionary Principle</b>. This principle cripples
> technological progress by requiring every technological
> innovation to clear the impossible hurdle of
> absolutely proving total safety. It unites extreme
> environmentalists, anti-capitalists, scare-mongers,
> biological fundamentalists, enemies of modern
> civilization, and Luddites of all stripes.
>
>
>
> <b>About the "VP" Summit</b>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> To counter Kass and his Council, <i> The New
> Atlantis</i>, and
> the seductive Precautionary Principle, Extropy Institute
> has initiated a Summit in several phases. The first
> phase will take place in mid-late February. This
> <b>collaborative, multi-disciplinary online</b> event will
> bring
> together not only all kinds of transhumanists and future-
> friendly folks, but also advocacy groups such as the
> Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation who need
> advanced biotech research to fix devastating biological
> problems. As Reeve has said, "I never thought politics
> would get in the way of hope."
>
> The Vital Progress Summit aims to achieve real,
> practical results. These will come in stages as the
> project progresses, but early deliverables expected
> from the February summit include a pithy response to
> the Precautionary Principle, a policy and values
> statement to counter <i>Beyond Therapy</i>, and a
> comprehensive collection of links to pro-advancement
> groups, journalists, publications, and educational groups.
>
> The Vital Progress Summit fits perfectly with and
> realizes Extropy Institute's mission. The February
> Summit will see the start of a continuing effort to build
> a broad alliance sharing the goal of the continued
> progress of fundamental knowledge of the human
> condition and how to modify it for the better. We can
> counter the bioconservatives by catalyzing the
> development of a "party of life".
>
> You'll find more details of the workings of the Summit in
> the <b>next update just a week from now</b>. The
> core of the
> two-week online event will be a <b>focused blog</b>
> by invited
> keynote bloggers. Others will be able to participate in
> related forums and by commenting on the blog-project
> work as well as by helping develop associated
> resources.
>
> >> http://www.extropy.org
>
>
>
>
>
> <b>ExI Welcomes its Honorary Advisor</b>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> ExI welcomes Tom Bell as its Honorary
> Advisor.
> Tom is a professor of law and a policy analyst,
> who has written widely about copyright, free speech,
> gambling, and telecommunications.
>
> Tom is also a designer of ideas and, as such, coined
> the term "extropy" way back in 1988. Tom was co-
> founder and Vice President of ExI, and remains a
> valued friend and colleague. ExI continues to be
> infused by Tom's characteristic enthusiasm, good
> humor, and probing mind.
>
> Welcome back Tom!
>
> Prof. Tom W. Bell - Honorary Advisor >>
> http://www.extropy.org/directors.thm
>
=== message truncated ===>
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=====
Mike Lorrey
"Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
- Gen. John Stark
"Fascists are objectively pro-pacifist..."
- Mike Lorrey
Do not label me, I am an ism of one...
Sado-Mikeyism: http://mikeysoft.zblogger.com
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