[ExI] Is anyone an expert on Aristotle and Life?

[Tara Maya]

> 
> So, if religious and secular humanists have made a large use throughout history of Aristotles or Plato by reinterpreting and exploiting in the light of their values whatever could be still of interest, at least in archetipical terms, in their works, I think it is equally legitimate for posthumanists to do just the same. Even though I expect the latter to be more aware of what is philologically, and what is only "inspirationally", plausible.
> 
> -- 
> Stefano Vaj


There seems to be folk psychology, shared by all humans, that distinguishes body from soul. Different cultures, of course, talk about the soul in different ways, some have more than one level, some link it to breath, others to blood or possession by a totem animal or god, etc. but nonetheless, all human cultures agree that there is some additional component to a human being than just a body...and often this component is seen as being uniquely human. When it is seen as belonging to animals or trees as well, it is because those animals or trees are also anthropomorphized. (As in cultures where bears or jaguars are viewed as ancestors who were once human, to take just one of many examples.)

It is striking that this belief in a soul is so pervasive. Twentieth century science discovered how the soul can be real without being anything besides brain matter. Brain matter is the substrate, personality is the program. But some materialists have taken this to mean that the soul (or psyche or personality or memes) cannot be separated from the body. 

This is where most transhumanists disagree. Why could the program not be run on a different substrate?

I actually think one would have an easier time interesting Aristotle or Plato  in the transhumanist project than extreme materialists. In fact, I think to most pre-modern peoples, the idea that one could, with the right tool, take the soul out of one kind of body and put it into another kind of body would be self-evident.



Tara Maya
Conmergence (speculative fiction anthology) - Free for the holidays
Burst (science fiction short story)

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