On Medium: Should Transhumanists be Pessimistic About Human Nature?
Here's an article about Nietzsche's social Darwinian elitism, the ascent of modern secular culture, and whether the transhuman must be pessimistic about human nature.
It seems obvious that "taking the machine inside us and uniting with it" has very real costs and dangers, including the danger of isolating ourselves from the impacts of industrialism until it's too late to mitigate them: "the electricity goes off and you discover you're not living in paradise, you're living in hell." Of course most of the human population already lives in hell*, and that goes double for non-humans. - Chris Korda
Uploading consciousness to a computer is only one scenario. Genetic engineering alone or other medical advances might provide us with immortality. This transition would also have to be accompanied by a fresh understanding of our nature as living things. The fear of merging with machines would be magnified by the delusion that we're immaterial spirits. On a materialistic view of consciousness, the merger with technology wouldn't seem so grotesque. Of course, whether the facts support such a materialistic theory is another matter.
Transhumanism bears a striking resemblance to Christianity. Both are escapist, characterized by unshakable belief that humans belong somewhere else, i.e. Heaven/Outer Space. Both express contempt for biology, e.g. Catholic repression of sexuality, and transhumanist use of derogatory terms such as meatspace. Both are motivated by fear of death, and presumably of life too, since one engenders the other (literally via natural selection). Both reject the limits of existence on earth, and promulgate a fantasy that justifies exceeding those limits. The danger isn't that the fantasy will be realized, but that deluded people will make earth unsuitable for life far sooner than would have otherwise been the case.
I address the connection between transhumanism and theistic religion, in the article linked below. I certainly agree that any such connection could make transhumanism dangerous and counterproductive. But I argue that transhumanism likely doesn't just copy, say, Christianity since Christianity in turn draws its metaphors from some secular realities, such as from the human experience of practically divine kings in feudal societies.
But is an "animal" that tries to triumph still just an animal? The mere delusory attempt to triumph would be an anomaly in itself, an anomaly of personhood.
It seems obvious that "taking the machine inside us and uniting with it" has very real costs and dangers, including the danger of isolating ourselves from the impacts of industrialism until it's too late to mitigate them: "the electricity goes off and you discover you're not living in paradise, you're living in hell." Of course most of the human population already lives in hell*, and that goes double for non-humans. - Chris Korda
ReplyDeleteUploading consciousness to a computer is only one scenario. Genetic engineering alone or other medical advances might provide us with immortality. This transition would also have to be accompanied by a fresh understanding of our nature as living things. The fear of merging with machines would be magnified by the delusion that we're immaterial spirits. On a materialistic view of consciousness, the merger with technology wouldn't seem so grotesque. Of course, whether the facts support such a materialistic theory is another matter.
DeleteTranshumanism bears a striking resemblance to Christianity. Both are escapist, characterized by unshakable belief that humans belong somewhere else, i.e. Heaven/Outer Space. Both express contempt for biology, e.g. Catholic repression of sexuality, and transhumanist use of derogatory terms such as meatspace. Both are motivated by fear of death, and presumably of life too, since one engenders the other (literally via natural selection). Both reject the limits of existence on earth, and promulgate a fantasy that justifies exceeding those limits. The danger isn't that the fantasy will be realized, but that deluded people will make earth unsuitable for life far sooner than would have otherwise been the case.
DeleteI address the connection between transhumanism and theistic religion, in the article linked below. I certainly agree that any such connection could make transhumanism dangerous and counterproductive. But I argue that transhumanism likely doesn't just copy, say, Christianity since Christianity in turn draws its metaphors from some secular realities, such as from the human experience of practically divine kings in feudal societies.
Deletehttps://medium.com/illumination-curated/does-transhumanism-rehash-the-delusions-of-progressive-religion-532aa1f0c784?sk=165601f7308bd1480cc894848d93fea4
Man is a frightened animal who tries to triumph, an animal who will not admit his own insignificance.
ReplyDeleteBut is an "animal" that tries to triumph still just an animal? The mere delusory attempt to triumph would be an anomaly in itself, an anomaly of personhood.
DeleteScience is paradoxically a great ally of human alienation. philosophy just shows what the human being is doing: drying the ice.
ReplyDelete