[extropy-chat] Spanish Socialists consider givingapeshuman-level rights

[George Dvorsky]

> Isn't this a bit fascist to force a species to upgrade and achieve a higher 
> intelligence.

It would be fascist not to, because fascists believe in the perpetuation 
and subjugation of cognitively stratified groups.

> This strikes me of the hubris of the 19th (and earlier) century Europeans 
> who thought they were doing the world such a favor by "civilizing" more 
> primitive cultures. How did that work out?

Integrating stone age cultures into feudal and industrial age societies 
was a difficult step, and one that probably wouldn't have gone well 
under any circumstances no matter how enlightened the 'invading' 
civilizations were (a big part of the problem was the clash of 
worldviews that had little memetic commonality).

The problem, though, in criticizing this period of history is that it 
was developmentally inevitable. Yes, it was a tragic time, but the real 
tragedy was that human civilizations developed differently in different 
areas of the world, which set up this awkward phase in the evolution of 
human civilization.

The same thing may be said about species. Non-human animals never gave 
consent to be born as non-human animals. This existential imposition has 
also endowed them with the inability to consent to uplifting. They are 
currently stuck in a state of Darwinian existence, regulated by 
instinct, subject to environmental pressures beyond their control, and 
limited by their cognitive capacities.

We value such things as intelligence, expanded capabilities, freedom 
from the perils of the environment, and long fulfilling lives in which 
we are able to express ourselves and achieve a meaningful existence. I 
think it's a safe assumption that we would be acting in the best 
interests of a non-human animal by uplifting them and giving them those 
benefits.

Finally, I'm amazed at some of the small thinking, here. When we talk 
about uplifting *in the long run*, we're not talking about lifting 
animals to Homo sapien equiv existence, nor are we even talking about 
high IQ gorillas. Rather, we're talking about endowing animals with all 
those things we ourselves are hoping for as transhumanists -- namely 
those interventions that will lead to postbiological existence.

A postbiological existence, imo, will entail one of two major strands: 
uploading and cyborgization. In both these scenarios, the long-term 
manifestation will be something quite outside of current conceptions. I 
used to think that speciation was in our future, and while I think that 
this may still be a possibility (including the possibility that there 
will always be unaugmented humans and animals kicking around), I'm more 
inclined to think that a convergence of forms is more likely. I feel 
that we'll likely homogenize around an optimal mode of being -- and when 
I say 'we' I'm also describing uplifted animals.

In our meta-mind telepathic superintelligent postbiological future, 
there won't be elephants, whales, and gorillas in the same way that 
there won't be humans.

Cheers,
George