[ExI] LA Times piece on Extropians, transhumanism, longtermism and the writer's mental illness

[Max More]

Someone sent me today’s LA Times op-Ed piece referencing Extropianism. There’s a lot wrong with it. Below are some brief comments I sent in reply:



Guerrero: I once fell for the fantasy of uploading ourselves. It's a dangerous myth - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)<https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-10-10/longtermism-climate-change-elon-musk>



It's about what I'd expect from the L.A. Times! The writer admits to mental problems and wants to blame transhumanism for them. She is one of the weak thinking critics who position transhumanists as people who despise their bodies. She digs back into early issues of Extropy but fails to note any of my pieces arguing against that view. I even touched on this with philosopher David Chalmers at the recent Alcor-50 conference. The goal is not to be rid of all embodiment; it's to expand our senses (both internal and external) and to have more options. It's all about embracing the possibilities of expanded experience, not about cutting off experiences.



She also goes wrong in presenting longtermism as synonymous with transhumanism. I have strong disagreements with longtermism, especially its moral base of utilitarianism. (If you accept utilitarianism then it may be hard to resist the logic of longtermism.)



And, of course, there is the predictable criticism that transhumanism is all about white men. Funny that, when she's also arguing that we don't care about our biology.



Does the L.A. Times print letters to the editor? If so, maybe I'll write a response.

--Max
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