[extropy-chat] Extropy Institute Announces the Vital Progress Summit I (VP1)

Thu Jan 8 15:37:09 UTC 2004

Extropy Institute Announces the upcoming 2004 Summit
VITAL PROGRESS ("VP") (01.07.04)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Greetings!

Recent and accelerating scientific advances may have 
you excited about extropic goals of extended life, 
heightened intelligence, and so on. But hold on! The 
forces of reaction are surging and we need to respond 
now. Extropy Institute is well into the planning process 
for the upcoming Vital Progress Summit, set for 
February 2004. In this newsletter, we explain why this 
Summit is needed so urgently, how it will work, what 
we aim to accomplish, and who we expect to 
participate.

The Summit is ExI's proactive response to three 
disturbing pivotal developments: Beyond 
Therapy - the 
report of 
the US President's Council on Bioethics headed by arch-
bioconservative and neophobe Leon Kass (and including 
avowed anti-posthuman Francis Fukuyama); The 
New 
Atlantis publication - a high-powered rallying point 
for 
the neo-Luddites; and the Precautionary 
Principle - a 
idea being adopted by a diverse array of interest 
groups devoted to blocking the fundamental 
technological advances crucial to our survival and to 
our extropic goals of overcoming human limits.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In this issue: ExI VITAL PROGRESS ("VP") Summit scheduled for February, 2004; and Welcome to Honorary Advisor -Prof. Tom W. Bell
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Killer Quotes!
* The Surging Threat to Extropic Advance
* About the "VP" Summit

* <b>ExI Welcomes its Honorary Advisor</b>

Killer Quotes!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The finitude of human life is a blessing for every 
individual, whether he knows it or not." And: "The 
immortals cannot be noble." -- Leon Kass, chairman of 
the President's Council on Bioethics

"The worst possible way to resolve [the question of life 
extension] is to leave it up to individual choice. There is 
no known social good coming from the conquest of 
death." - Daniel Callahan

"The whole effort to defeat death, it seems to me, is a 
kind of striving that speaks of a kind of serious lack of a 
certain kind of moral perspective. - Francis Fukuyama

"The pursuit of perfect bodies and further life extension 
will deflect us from realizing more fully the aspirations 
to which our lives naturally point, from living well rather 
than merely staying alive."  - Leon Kass in The 
Washington Post

The Surging Threat to Extropic Advance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Throughout history the forces of advancement have 
struggled against the reactionary forces of stasis. 
Europe suffered a thousand years of zero progress 
during the Dark Ages. The Renaissance and 
Enlightenment finally broke through that grim era. We 
transhumanists are the heirs to the Enlightenment 
values of perpetual progress for humanity based in 
science and creativity. Recent years have seen 
numerous developments that are showing the culture at 
large the realism of our extropic goals of extended 
healthy life, enhanced intelligence, refined emotions, 
and the ever-extending ability to take control of our 
form and fate. But now we face an unprecedented 
convergence of groups intent on using direct action 
and global legislation to halt humanity's progress.

One of the most remarkable and worrying developments 
is the presidential-level bioethics council. This council, 
led by Leon Kass (once an opponent of in vitro 
fertilization) has published a report, Beyond 
Therapy 
that takes very seriously issues at the core of our 
extropic values and goals. From the preface to the 
report:

"In keeping with our mission, we have undertaken an 
inquiry into the potential implications of using 
biotechnology "beyond therapy," in order to try to 
satisfy deep and familiar human desires: for better 
children, superior performance, ageless bodies, and 
happy souls. Such uses of biotechnology, some of 
which are now possible and some of which may become 
possible in the future, are likely to present us with 
profound and highly consequential ethical challenges 
and choices. They may play a crucial role in shaping 
human experience in the fast-approaching age of 
biotechnology."

Backing Kass's council of intellectual clones,
marching to the same anti-transhumanist, anti-biotech 
beat, are other numerous and organized voices. Their 
favored watering hole - the forum that gathers and 
disseminates their vitality-sapping fulminations of fear 
and faith is The New Atlantis. Appropriately 
named 
after the Platonic fantasy of a perfect unchanging 
society now lost to the world, this publication aims to 
shape "the nation's moral and political understanding of 
all areas of technology" in a way deadly to extropic 
ideals and aspirations. Many other groups are getting in 
on the act through the vehicle of the sensible-sounding 
Precautionary Principle. This principle cripples 
technological progress by requiring every technological 
innovation to clear the impossible hurdle of 
absolutely proving total safety. It unites extreme 
environmentalists, anti-capitalists, scare-mongers, 
biological fundamentalists, enemies of modern 
civilization, and Luddites of all stripes.

About the "VP" Summit
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To counter Kass and his Council, The New 
Atlantis, and 
the seductive Precautionary Principle, Extropy Institute 
has initiated a Summit in several phases. The first 
phase will take place in mid-late February. This 
collaborative, multi-disciplinary online event will 
bring 
together not only all kinds of transhumanists and future-
friendly folks, but also advocacy groups such as the 
Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation who need 
advanced biotech research to fix devastating biological 
problems. As Reeve has said, "I never thought politics 
would get in the way of hope."

The Vital Progress Summit aims to achieve real, 
practical results. These will come in stages as the 
project progresses, but early deliverables expected 
from the February summit include a pithy response to 
the Precautionary Principle, a policy and values 
statement to counter Beyond Therapy, and a 
comprehensive collection of links to pro-advancement 
groups, journalists, publications, and educational groups.

The Vital Progress Summit fits perfectly with and 
realizes Extropy Institute's mission. The February 
Summit will see the start of a continuing effort to build 
a broad alliance sharing the goal of the continued 
progress of fundamental knowledge of the human 
condition and how to modify it for the better. We can 
counter the bioconservatives by catalyzing the 
development of a "party of life".

You'll find more details of the workings of the Summit in 
the next update just a week from now. The 
core of the 
two-week online event will be a focused blog
by invited 
keynote bloggers. Others will be able to participate in 
related forums and by commenting on the blog-project 
work as well as by helping develop associated 
resources.

 >> http://www.extropy.org

ExI Welcomes its Honorary Advisor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ExI welcomes Tom Bell as its Honorary 
Advisor. 
Tom is a professor of law and a policy analyst, 
who has written widely about copyright, free speech, 
gambling, and telecommunications.

Tom is also a designer of ideas and, as such, coined 
the term "extropy" way back in 1988. Tom was co-
founder and Vice President of ExI, and remains a 
valued friend and colleague.  ExI continues to be 
infused by Tom's characteristic enthusiasm, good 
humor, and probing mind.

Welcome back Tom!

Prof. Tom W. Bell - Honorary Advisor >> http://www.extropy.org/directors.thm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quick Links...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Join ExI! >> http://www.extropy.org/membership.htm
Email lists >> http://www.extropy.org/emaillists
Transhumanist FAQ >> http://www.extropy.org/faq.htm
Best Business Analysis on the Web! >> http://www.manyworlds.com://
More About Us >> http://www.extropy.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email: exi-info at extropy.org
voice: 011.512.263.2749
web: http://www.extropy.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Extropy Institute | 10709 Pointe View Drive | Austin | TX | 78738

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