[ExI] The Manifesto of Italian Transhumanists

[Jef Allbright]

On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 10:25 AM, Amara Graps <amara at amara.com> wrote:
> Jef Allbright jef at jefallbright.net :
>  >I suspect that what your perceive as non-Transhumanism is the
>  >relative deemphasis of child-like visions of individual attainment
>  >(god-like powers, expanded hedonism, personal immortality) ...
>
>  Heh.. I rather like my child-like visions of individual attainment. :-)

The Japanese like them too, with their extremely cute anime
characters, Pokemon, etc., their super-futuristic toy robots and
dressed-up motorcycles, their super-heroes and on and on.  But the
cultural difference is that these are more generally identified with
child-like narrow self-interest, while greatness and wisdom are widely
associated with identification (and corresponding action) within a
context broader than the individual.


>  http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/Quotes/emotion
>
>  "People who have lost their dreams no longer think that life is a grand
>  adventure, as children see their lives, but instead they live something
>  of a tired day-to-day existence, caught in duties and allegiances and
>  baggage and they ask only very little of life. Dead dreams poison our
>  psychological selves infecting every aspect of our lives. When our
>  dreams are dead, no longer do we see the big picture."

Wise words indeed.  And I take comfort and joy from knowing that
childish dreams of individual attainment do mature into dreams of
ongoing growth in the direction of values coherent over increasing
context, supporting further discovery of increasing possibilities...
:]

- Jef