[ExI] Posthumanism vs. Transhumanism

Natasha Vita-More natasha at natasha.cc
Fri Jun 19 14:51:04 UTC 2009


He seems to be making the distinction by suggesting, by association to the
Enlightenment and humanism, that transhumanism has an anthropocentric
worldview.  H+ want life extension for continuing our lives and our
individuality.  A bit of a postmodernist take it seems.  But nonetheless,
the supposition he makes is not accurate.  I gotta go now, but I'd like your
thoughts.


Nlogo1.tif Natasha Vita-More

-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org
[mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Damien
Broderick
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2009 11:17 PM
To: ExI chat list
Subject: Re: [ExI] Posthumanism vs. Transhumanism


>http://www.scribd.com/doc/391082/Post-Humanism-History

That's the ticket. Now we can talk about it without guessing wildly. 
I see he starts:

"...the history of posthumanism is neither synonymous with the history of
technology , nor is it found exclusively within philosophical inquiries into
technology . Certainly, technological change has become a core component of
contemporary imaginations about posthumanity. However, I will argue that
imaginations about how humanity is transformed by technology are specific ,
historically contingent manifestations"

[gosh! just like all our other ideas!]

"of posthuman ideas. Moreover, these ideas are more deeply rooted in claims
about such concepts as becoming, alterity, transgressions of boundaries and
the position of humanity in relation to these concepts .

"...the 'post' of posthumanism need not imply the absence of humanity or
moving beyond it in some biological or evolutionary manner. 
Rather, the starting point should be an attempt to understand what has been
omitted from an anthropocentric worldview, which includes coming to terms
with how the Enlightenment centring of humanity has been revealed as
inadequate."

Damien Broderick


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