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Kenn Brown art. PHIL 2525 Lec 23 Transhumanism. Julian Huxley 1957.
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Kenn Brown art PHIL 2525Lec 23Transhumanism
Julian Huxley 1957 • "I believe in transhumanism:...once there are enough people who can truly say that, the human species will be on the threshold of a new kind of existence, as different from ours as ours is from that of Peking man. It will at last be consciously fulfilling its real destiny.“
Narcissus • …in love with his own reflection…
Technological Revolutions... • Agricultural Revolution 12,000 BCE • Industrial Revolution 18th C • Computer Revolution 20th C • Nanotechnology • Cybernetics • Transhuman Revolution ????
Transhumanism (H+) is an… • …intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities. (wikipedia)
Transhumanism (H+) is... • Some Transhumanists argue that we have a moral obligation to help the human race transcend its biological limits.
Transhumanism (H+) is... • Some Transhumanists argue that we have a moral obligation to help the human race transcend its biological limits.
Transhumanism (H+) is... • Defeating death? • Cheating death? • Naysayers…. Bio-Luddites Bio-conservatives
Transhumanism is a philosophy • …the ethics of human biotechnology or genetic engineering is one of the most important cultural issues of our time…. of your time! Transhumanism is a moral issue
A Posthuman is... • a hypothetical future being "whose basic capacities so radically exceed those of present humans as to be no longer unambiguously human by our current standards."
A Posthuman is... • a hypothetical future being "whose basic capacities so radically exceed those of present humans as to be no longer unambiguously human by our current standards."
A Posthuman is... • a hypothetical future being "whose basic capacities so radically exceed those of present humans as to be no longer unambiguously human by our current standards."
Aims of Transhumanism…. • Increase in human health span (more than merely life span) • Extension of intellectual and physical capacities • Control of our mental states and moods
Singularity: the technological creation of smarter-than-human intelligence.
Hal, the thinking, talking computer in Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, shows all the capabilities of a human intelligence – including the ability to feel threatened, to protect territory, to disobey and kill. But to many people what made it most human-like was its reaction to impending "death"
Bioconservatives… • Are opposed to the use of technology to modify human nature • Believe that human enhancement technologies will undermine human dignity (i.e. be dehumanizing) • Argue for public control of such technologies
Two fears… • Posthumans might harm themselves • Posthumans might harm ‘ordinary’ humans
Ray Bradbury • "I don’t try to describe the future. I try to prevent it." -- Ray Bradbury • What does he mean?
The Epic of Gilgamesh dates from the 3rd millennium BCE and is one of the finest surviving epic poems in world literature.
Singularity “Singularity... the point at which technological advancement will become so rapid that the possibilities will become endless...”
Coming to a college near you... Rutger’s University (New Jersey) • The course requires no science or technology background and is recommended for students with an art, humanities or business focus as well as anyone who anticipates working in a high technology or science-based industry or profession.
The ‘singularity’ is coming… Based on 21st C advances in • genetics • nanotechnology • robotics (including artificial intelligence) • http://www.innoeco.com/labels/Ray%20Kurzweil.html
Transhumanism is a philosophy • …the ethics of human biotechnology or genetic engineering is one of the most important cultural issues of our time…. of your time! Transhumanism is a moral issue
Transhumanism and civil liberties... • Technological self-determination • Reproduction • Cognition • Gender re-assignment • End of life technology
Transhumanism and civil liberties... • Technological self-determination • Reproduction • Cognition • Gender re-assignment • End of life technology
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AY0RFYzsKk&feature=player_embeddedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AY0RFYzsKk&feature=player_embedded
Transhumanism and civil liberties... • Technological self-determination • Reproduction • Cognition • Gender re-assignment • End of life technology
Transhumanism and civil liberties... • Technological self-determination • Reproduction • Cognition • Gender re-assignment • End of life technology
Transhumanism and civil liberties... • Technological self-determination • Reproduction • Cognition • Gender re-assignment • End of life technology
Transhumanism and civil liberties... • Technological self-determination • Reproduction • Cognition • Gender re-assignment • End of life technology
