[ExI] Wiki entry of Critical Theory of Posthumanism

[Anders Sandberg]

Darren Greer wrote:
> But in researching this topic on the philosophies of posthumanism, 
> there is one interesting question that keeps arising, where do liberal 
> human philosophies fit in this posthuman world? Some branches of 
> philosophical posthumansim advocate a complete denial not only of 
> collective human identity but individual identity as well. Throw the 
> baby out with the bathwater, in other words.

Maybe. I think Derek Parfit has done a good job of sketching a 
non-person centric approach to ethics that is pretty compatible with 
some form of liberal human philosophy (and for transhumanists, his 
Reasons and Persons is of course a fun read - plenty of uploading and 
teleportation in the persons part, plus it set Nick and others on the 
path to fight xrisks).

But I do think there is a major challenge to update our enlightenment 
views to work in a postmodern and indeed posthuman world. If free will, 
rights, rationality, individuality and species membership are less sharp 
than assumed by past thinkers, how do we construct workable institutions 
and ethical behaviors?


-- 
Anders Sandberg,
Future of Humanity Institute 
Oxford Martin School 
Faculty of Philosophy 
Oxford University