[ExI] Taxonomy of Human Enhancement

[Natasha Vita-More]

I did find the term used by Brodey and Lingren. I believe they were both at
MIT in the '60s.  Here is a link between human enhancement and AI:

"In 1969, Warren M. Brodey and Nilo Lingren co-authored 'Human enhancement
through evolutionary technology' (87-97) as a proposition that fosters
controlling man’s skills and his environment though artificial intelligence.

'There is a need now, more than ever before, for men to stretch their
capacities in what we shall call evolutionary skills. Moreover, it is at
last becoming possible technologically to enhance these skills in man by
incorporating somewhat similar evolutionary skills in the machines which we
design and build'(Brodey & Lingren 1969:1)." (Vita-More 2011)

Brodey, Warren M. and Lindgren, Nilo. (1967) “Human enhancement through
evolutionary technology” in _IEET Spectrum_, Vol. 4, No. 9, September 1967,
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., pp 87-97.

This links human enhancement to a more cyberentics approach, but I'm not
sure if this is where transhumanists started using the phrase.

Natasha


-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org
[mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Natasha
Vita-More
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2012 7:04 AM
To: 'ExI chat list'
Subject: Re: [ExI] Taxonomy of Human Enhancement

Human enhancement is a different concept than life extension, although it
can include it but does not have to, whereas life extension must include
enhancement. Fedorov was passionate about resurrecting the dead and Finot
envisioned humans creating new life forms on the molecular level, he neither
wrote about "human enhancement".  Funny you should mention Ilia though
because yesterday we were working on a project for the upcoming Israel
festival on radical life extension. :-)  

Anyway, thanks but I need to know where the phrase "human enhancement"
originated because it has matured into a possible field and no one has
written about this and it would be good to credit the folks who came up with
it.  I suppose it could as Roco and Bainbridge since they developed NBIC (as
far as I know, but someone please correct me if I am wrong.)

Thanks,
Natasha


-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org
[mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of BillK
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2012 1:51 AM
To: ExI chat list
Subject: Re: [ExI] Taxonomy of Human Enhancement

2012/1/9 Natasha Vita-More wrote:
> If anyone knows where human enhancement, as a phrase that refers to life
> extension, elevating the human condition, and uploading, please let me
know!
>


I think this might help.

<http://jetpress.org/v21/stambler.htm>

Life extension – a conservative enterprise? Some fin-de-siècle and
early twentieth-century precursors of transhumanism
Ilia Stambler

Abstract

 The beginning of the modern period in the pursuit of radical human
enhancement and longevity can be traced to fin-de-siècle/early
twentieth-century scientific and technological optimism and
therapeutic activism. The works of several authors of the period –
Fedorov, Stephens, Bogdanov, Nietzsche and Finot – reveal conflicting
ideological and social pathways toward the goals of human enhancement
and life extension.

(Also see list of references at the end of the document).


BillK

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