[extropy-chat] VP Summit - Press Release - Comments Please!

[Natasha Vita-More]

At 10:38 AM 1/31/04 -0800, Robert wrote:

>Max and Damien have had some discussion with respect to significant
>philosophical perspectives...
>
>Lets look at:
> > >I suppose it's impossible or at least very hard to convince you to 
> leave out
> > >cult-sounding brand-positioning phrases such as `our extropic goals'.
>
>For myself personally there is not really any "our".  Extropic goals
>are extropic goals -- nobody can lay claim to them other than perhaps
>by pointing them out (e.g. hey -- "XYZZY is an extropic goal).

True to a point.  FM-2030 transhuman goals were based on individual "rates 
of change" and students rated their ability to adapt to the future.  These 
rates became "goals" with which to calculate how much and in what areas 
changes were, and were desired, to take place in adapting to the 
future.  In our gatherings, these became our combined efforts, since were 
probably less than 6 degrees of separation between us.

>Now where extropic and transhumanistic thought in general
>may be failing to fulfill it potential may be with respect
>to the detailed analysis of where actions or priorities
>may be distinctly unextropic.

Unextropic would be untranshumanistic, since extropic thinking is an 
ultimate transhumanist brain-wave, don't you think?  I might be wrong, but 
if transhumanism is an extropic cultural movement, then this would be true.

>So we have Sunday mornings.  Most extropians sit at home
>enjoying their brunch.  Why are they not down at the
>local religious institution handing out flyers questioning
>the basic premise that "thou shalt not bear false witness
>against thy neighbor" (the 9th commandment) which would
>seem to doom any argument that christianity has some
>prior claim against non-christian (or extropic) perspectives.
>
>So once one tosses out the faith based perspectives then
>one has the freedom to argue rationality.
>
>The trick with "extropic goals" is to figure out what is really
>going to move us in that direction.  I can promote genetic
>technologies that increase our general knowledge base.  I
>can also point out technologies that would limit that knowledge
>base to a few narrowly educated individuals.

Precisely.  Good point.  Herein, I think that what is imperative is to 
recognize that the future happens across social change theories and that 
multi-tracking of rates of change (or calculating rate of change on a 
multi-track level, wherein more than one area of expertise in a many areas 
are valued) would be advantageous.

Natasha

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Natasha Vita-More
http://www.natasha.cc
----------
President, Extropy Institute  http://www.extropy.org
Founder, Transhumanist Arts & Culture  http://www.transhumanist.biz
http://www.transhuman.org
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