[ExI] Posthumanism vs. Transhumanism

[Eugen Leitl]

On Sun, May 06, 2007 at 05:23:16AM -0600, Brent Allsop wrote:

> (And I I hope others will more precisely specify what their favorite 
> terms are.)

The meaning of them, rather. Too many damn terms with too damn
little meaning clinging to them are making the rounds.
 
> Is it Transhuman, Posthuman, or something else?

I don't see a particular distinction between posthuman or
transhuman. It's still all plain old postbiology. (Human enhancement,
if at all possible, is only a fleeting phase of development). If you want to
define a transhuman as a slightly enhanced human, then I
would consider it just a passing phase, as a kind of adolescence.
 
> I think I'm still liking just the term Extropian.  I'm enjoying what I 
> am now.  I'm infinitely thankful for all my ancestors did to freely 

A baby very much enjoys being that, but eventually it will grow and
become an adult.

When I grow up, I want to be a distributed system.

> create me, and for giving me way more than any of them had.  I'm working 
> to preserve everything I have been, (just keeping the bad primitive 
> stuff as a memory of what I've been, and enhancing all the good stuff) 
> and looking forward to so much more of everything at an ever 
> accelerating and more exciting pace.  And I'm hopping some day I can pay 
> all my ancestors back for creating me by resurrecting them (including 
> pre humans who are so deserving since they had so much less to work 
> with, but still made things better).  Extropian, to me, just means more 
> of all good (including perfect memory of the bad), no matter what or 
> where it all came from.
> 
> Oh, and I don't like it when Giu1i0 talks about his future 
> "computational superintelligence" because this apparently does not 
> include the real phenomenal properties of consciousness, like red, 

Why do you think it "apparently doesn't include" it? What is particularly
real or unreal about neurons spiking in the space between your ears when you
wrote that message? How do you know it's a meat brain between your ears,
and not something else? Did you ever take a look? 

> green, warm....   Abstract (the type of representation is irrelevant) 
> computation doesn't have that, and that very real phenomenal stuff we 

If the type of representation is irrelevant, then you're just a computer
made from meat. You can do no more of these fancy "real phenomenal stuff"
as any other computer. So, how does it feel, being a zombie?

> represent our knowledge and computation with is more important than 
> anything!  We should never talk about giving phenomenal (or spiritual if 
> you will) stuff up.  At least that is my POV.

I don't know what spiritual really means (never had any of it), but if it 
floats your boat, sure.
 
-- 
Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
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