08-11-2010, 11:54 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
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The Politics of Transhumanism
We've gotten close to this several times. Mainly by either declaring Transhumanism scary or by proposing that their will be big changes from Transhumanism, or by my throwing up thought-experiments (general declared outrageous or wish fufulment) but propably falling far below the level of transformation and chaos that any Transhumanism break through would cause. But the point is, Transhumanism is profoundly political.
If you can change what it is to be human, you end all previous societies, period end of discussion. Mind you, that doesn't have to be a bad thing, but it is a profoundly political act. Take the Transhumanism goal of extending the human lifespan. Assume a treatment that would cost about 5000 dollars over ten years that would add several decades to the average human life. However, if a person lacks access to clean water and reasonable santitation, the benefits are lost. Most of humanity couldn't gain the benefits. The political struggle over access to the treatment would force transformation. If you can restructure the human body freely, allowing a fat, clumsy, bald, guy (like me) to be slim, graceful (massive neurological work there), handsome as a movie star, then you can transform anybody. What would ethnicity, race, or gender, mean, if you can change your body type more easily than getting your kitchen remodeled? In the West, we can deal with this, in much of the rest of the world, it would be explosive. What should the political take on Transshumanism be? Myself, I'm technophillic and believe that humanity can rise to the occassion. It may be a bumpy road, but it's worth traveling. Others may disagree. Please, give your take on these issues. No flames, nor accusations of flaming, please.
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Per Ardua Per Astra! Ancora Imparo Last edited by Astromancer; 08-12-2010 at 10:22 AM. |
08-11-2010, 12:41 PM | #2 | ||
Join Date: Oct 2005
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Re: The Politics of Transhumanism
Meh, we're all gonna get eaten by grey goo anyway, right? [/joke]
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America just after the Revolution, and America now, are clearly different societies, but there has been political continuity (at least more-or-less) since that time. Same with any number of pre-industrial societies which have made the transition. Now, there are some arguments that transhumanism (especially intelligence enhancement and AI) are more radical than the industrial revolution, better compared to the development of agriculture or even the origin of life. Quote:
Inequality of outcomes is nothing new, either. Even without life-extension therapy, sanitation, clean water, and basic medical access (vaccines, etc) have huge effects, but you don't see a universal presence in the modern world. Indefinite life-extension might be another story, but with accidents (and violence) still taking their toll, I'm not even sure about that. |
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08-11-2010, 05:26 PM | #3 | ||
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: The Politics of Transhumanism
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08-12-2010, 06:26 AM | #4 |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: The Politics of Transhumanism
I often think that Transhumanism should be treated like other philosopho-religious issues:
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08-12-2010, 09:56 AM | #5 | |
Join Date: Oct 2005
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Re: The Politics of Transhumanism
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And, conversely, if we have a safe, inexpensive, effective transhuman treatment, isn't government support appropriate? Doesn't it make sense to, for example, pay for a treatment to slow aging rather than pay the (significantly higher) medical costs for the elderly? And, of course, there's the "what about the children" argument. Should we allow parents to have make risky or distasteful decisions for which their children suffer the consequences? |
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08-12-2010, 10:41 AM | #6 | |||||
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
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Re: The Politics of Transhumanism
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08-12-2010, 10:50 AM | #7 | ||
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
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Re: The Politics of Transhumanism
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08-12-2010, 10:52 AM | #8 | |
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
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Re: The Politics of Transhumanism
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08-12-2010, 12:02 PM | #9 | |||
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: The Politics of Transhumanism
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1. Children* are sophonts. Thus, they should get the all the human rights from the start, and modifying them without explicit consent is illegal (OTOH, their consent is enough to allow a modification). 2. Children* are non-sophonts, but are covered by the 'No Cruelty to Sub-Sophonts' clause. This is a slightly more consistent variant than what we have today. 3. (The ugliest version.) Children* are non-sophonts, and are considered technically an extension of their parents' organisms (despite being physically separated), until they pass the qualification of becoming sophonts. 4. Children* are non-sophonts, and The Big Uncle has a list of explicit definitions of illegal treatments of children. 5. Children* are sophonts, but second-class citizens, and The Big Uncle has a list of explicit definitions of illegal treatments of children and behaviors illegal for them to engage in. * == Definitions of these may vary, and are probably worth a tangent discussion. |
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08-12-2010, 12:38 PM | #10 |
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Kentucky, USA
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Re: The Politics of Transhumanism
Transhumanism will change things, but unless aliens arrive and suddenly drop future tech into our laps, those changes will be evolutionary instead of revolutionary. You will not be able to pick any specific point and state "Society X ended and Society Y began in the year 20XX."
As was stated before, the people and societies that feel like something suddenly happened will be the ones who don't like change already, and aren't following what is already happening in their drive to resist it. |
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