[extropy-chat] Transhumanism as Religion

[The Avantguardian]

--- Dirk Bruere <dirk.bruere at gmail.com> wrote:
> Transhumanism, in
> its incarnation as an
> imminent apocalyptic meme promising eternal life and
> heaven on Earth, has
> every ingredient necessary, and is more firmly based
> in modern science than
> any cult/religion I can think of. I'm almost
> tempted...

Allow me to tempt you further. I'll see your heaven on
Earth and raise you a diaspora across the stars. I
have been thinking much along these lines for quite
some time. Transhumanism is already viewed by the
masses as some kind of cult. I don't see what there
would be to lose. I can think of much to gain. Think
about the potential. A cult based upon empiricism,
philosophy, and rational optimism where we canonize
the likes of Plato, Darwin, Neitszche, and Einstein. A
religion that actually imparted immeninently useful
truths upon the faithful that were of consequence in
the HERE AND NOW and not some illusory afterlife. 

A seamless blending of ancient wisdom from around the
world and cutting edge science. After a life time of
scientific enquiry and spiritual seeking, I literally
have faith in the potential for humanity to transcend
its limitations. And why should we not? We alone of
amongst the creatures of the world have any concept of
the scope of this vast universe and how little of it
we have explored. Why would we be able to discern it
at all, if we were not meant to explore it? 

Whether the gods created us in their image or we
created them in ours, we are nonetheless CREATORS. Why
should we not then strive to create a future that is
to our liking and embrace that future? Unless and
until Fermi's Great Silence is unequivocally broken,
then we alone are the avatars of the sentient living
universe. It is time we started acting like the
godlings we are. To paraphrase the Buddha, "In all of
heaven and earth, I alone am holy."





Stuart LaForge
alt email: stuart"AT"ucla.edu

"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science [...] Believing as I do that man in the distant future will be a far more perfect creature than he now is, it is an intolerable thought that he and all other sentient beings are doomed to complete annihilation after such long-continued slow progress" 
- St. Darwin

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