[extropy-chat] Posthumanity Rising

[Samantha Atkins]

Very interesting.  Part of me is cheering enthusiastically.  Another 
part is wondering how we will survive mob resentment and even raw 
terror once it is seen that our aspirations are not looney tunes.   In 
a highly competitive species under the reality or illusion of scarcity, 
most members are going to react quite badly with tremendous fear  to 
the idea that they either join the program or become far more obsolete 
than any mere technological or knowledge leap today can make them.    
It is a harsh world if one is truly obsolete and not economical to 
employ in any paid capacity.  We primates react extra badly if we see 
our death and the end of all hope before us.   Not everyone will want 
to go beyond human as soon as they can.   What happens to them?    
Without an answer they have sound reasons to fear.

It may be my own soft pedaling but I have often thought that the best 
chance for there ever to be posthumans is to create enough effective 
abundance with guaranteed availability to all that no one can 
reasonably worry about being able to survive and live welil.  Once that 
level of visceral fear is dealt with then I doubt the opposition could 
get a lot of traction for hatred toward those that had decided to avail 
themselves of opportunities for more.    Posthumans may well be what 
makes such universal and growing abundance even possible.

The moral arguments can be strong in our favor.   How can we be moral 
and allow everyone to suffer, often horribly, and die now that we can 
or fast will be able to do something about it?  How can it be moral to 
be happy with just human capabilities to learn, to make a difference, 
and generally "to have life and have it more abundantly"?  Given any 
sort of choice, how can being merely human be justified for even a 
moment when so many difficult and often deadly problems face us that 
may be insoluble by mere humans?

That said, I would not be very happy if we ended up with or being 
merely super primates with much of our evolutionary wiring intact 
within a super powered frame.   In my opinion our deep psychology will 
require serious rework to be sane and trustworthy with such abilities.

- samantha


On Mar 23, 2005, at 6:43 PM, Joseph Bloch wrote:

> Yes, I have gone over to the Dark Side.
>
> I have joined the ranks of those who think that people will actively 
> want to look at my rantings and will click on a link (or remember to 
> click on a Bookmark), rather than waiting passively for them to come 
> to them in their inbox, via email.
>
> I have started a blog.
>
> http://transhumanist.blogspot.com/
>
> May the God who does not exist have mercy on my soul... which also 
> happens not to exist.
>
> Joseph
>
> Enhance your body "beyond well" and your mind "beyond normal":
> http://www.humanenhancement.com
>
> New Jersey Transhumanist Association:
> http://www.goldenfuture.net/njta
>
> Posthumanity Rising:
> http://transhumanist.blogspot.com/
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