The Transhumanist Movement

Francesco Paolo AdornoSocial Science
The Transhumanist Movement

Author: Francesco Paolo Adorno

Publisher: Springer Nature

ISBN: 9783030824235

Category: Social Science

Page: 233

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The book is published as part of the "PRIN 2017 The Dark side of the Law". This volume analyzes the theoretical underpinnings of the academic transhumanism movement, beginning with the relationship between anthropology and technique. The author focuses on the question of immortality, which can be considered the core of transhumanism. The true depth of immortality will be discussed, through which and how many transformations could be produced in order to change our society, which is basically shaped by and for human mortal beings, in a society composed by immortal persons. Some writers have written about what a future populated with immortals might look like, which is far removed from both the bright future painted by transhumanists and from the disappearance of humanity feared by bioconservatives.

The Transhumanist Reader

Max MoreMedical
The Transhumanist Reader

Author: Max More

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

ISBN: 9781118555996

Category: Medical

Page: 480

View: 442

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The first authoritative and comprehensive survey of the originsand current state of transhumanist thinking The rapid pace of emerging technologies is playing anincreasingly important role in overcoming fundamental humanlimitations. Featuring core writings by seminal thinkers in thespeculative possibilities of the posthuman condition, essaysaddress key philosophical arguments for and against humanenhancement, explore the inevitability of life extension, andconsider possible solutions to the growing issues of social andethical implications and concerns. Edited by the internationallyacclaimed founders of the philosophy and social movement oftranshumanism, The Transhumanist Reader is an indispensableguide to our current state of knowledge of the quest to expand thefrontiers of human nature.

Transcendence

R.U. SiriusComputers
Transcendence

Author: R.U. Sirius

Publisher: Red Wheel Weiser

ISBN: 9781609259594

Category: Computers

Page: 290

View: 714

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“A deceptively light treatment of mind-blowing technologies and their cultural, social and political impact. This book will put your mind on fire.”—Giulio Prisco, Hacked.com Transhumanism is an international movement that advocates the use of science and technology to overcome the natural limitations experienced by humanity, through such developments as: the Singularity—the creation of machine intelligences that exceed the capacities of our biological brains the ability to replicate individual minds and put them into solid-state bodies or virtual environments individual control over mental and emotional states for enhancing functionalities and/or ecstasies Some of this is happening now. Some it is still in the minds of dreamers. In nearly ninety A-Z entries, Transcendence provides a multilayered look at the accelerating advances in artificial intelligence, cognitive science, genomics, information technology, nanotechnology, neuroscience, space exploration, synthetic biology, robotics, and virtual worlds that are making transhumanism a reality. Entries range from Cloning and Cyborg Feminism to Designer Babies and Memory-Editing Drugs. In addition, the book notes historical predecessors and personalities, both in mythology and history—ranging from Timothy Leary to Michael Jackson to Ray Kurzweil. It also introduces the culture around Transhumanism, covering all the geeky obsessions of the Transhumanist movement. “A new book deciphering the surreal truths, questionable fictions, and high weirdness of the Singularity . . . Infotaining, irreverent, and frequent piss-taking paperback.”—Boing Boing “RU Sirius and Jay Cornell present us with their own psychedelic guide to the galaxy in this adventurous idea-rich book, bootstrapping on emerging technologies that beckon us to take control of our evolutionary destiny and lead humanity towards radical new landscapes of mind, of dream, of cosmos, of possibility.”—Jason SilvaTranshumanism is an international movement that advocates the use of science and technology to overcome the natural limitations experienced by humanity, through such developments as:the Singularitythe creation of machine intelligences that exceed the capacities of our biological brainsthe ability to replicate individual minds and put them into solid-state bodies or virtual environmentsindividual control over mental and emotional states for enhancing functionalities and/or ecstasiesSome of this is happening now. Some it is still in the minds of dreamers. In nearly ninety A-Z entries,Transcendenceprovides a multilayered look at the accelerating advances in artificial intelligence, cognitive science, genomics, information technology, nanotechnology, neuroscience, space exploration, synthetic biology, robotics, and virtual worlds that are making transhumanism a reality. Entries range from Cloning and Cyborg Feminism to Designer Babies and Memory-Editing Drugs. In addition, the book notes historical predecessors and personalities, both in mythology and historyranging from Timothy Leary to Michael Jackson to Ray Kurzweil. It also introduces the culture around Transhumanism, covering all the geeky obsessions of the Transhumanist movement.

Transhumanism - Engineering the Human Condition

Roberto ManzoccoTechnology & Engineering
Transhumanism - Engineering the Human Condition

Author: Roberto Manzocco

Publisher: Springer

ISBN: 9783030049584

Category: Technology & Engineering

Page: 293

View: 998

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This book is designed to offer a comprehensive high-level introduction to transhumanism, an international political and cultural movement that aims to produce a “paradigm shift” in our ethical and political understanding of human evolution. Transhumanist thinkers want the human species to take the course of evolution into its own hands, using advanced technologies currently under development – such as robotics, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cognitive neurosciences, and nanotechnology – to overcome our present physical and mental limitations, improve our intelligence beyond the current maximum achievable level, acquire skills that are currently the preserve of other species, abolish involuntary aging and death, and ultimately achieve a post-human level of existence. The book covers transhumanism from a historical, philosophical, and scientific viewpoint, tracing its cultural roots, discussing the main philosophical, epistemological, and ethical issues, and reviewing the state of the art in scientific research on the topics of most interest to transhumanists. The writing style is clear and accessible for the general reader, but the book will also appeal to graduate and undergraduate students.

Transhumanism as a New Social Movement

James Michael MacFarlanePhilosophy
Transhumanism as a New Social Movement

Author: James Michael MacFarlane

Publisher: Springer Nature

ISBN: 9783030400903

Category: Philosophy

Page: 239

View: 916

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This book explores Technological Human Enhancement Advocacy through ethnographically inspired participant observation across a range of sites. James Michael MacFarlane argues that such advocacy is characterized by ‘Techno-centrism,' a belief grounded in today’s world while being also future-oriented and drawn from the imagination. This blurring of ‘real’ and ‘imagined’ futures borrows from the materialist grounding of the scientific worldview, while granting extended license to visions for technology as an enabler of forward-facing action, which include reviving humanist ideals associated with the modernization project. While Techno-centrism is arguably most pronounced in transhumanism—where it is acted-out in extreme, almost hyperbolic ways—it reflects more generally held, deep-seeded concerns around the future of science, technology and human self-identity in the new millennium. Far from being new, these emerging social forms capture unresolved ambivalences which have long cast a shadow over late-modern society and culture.

Transhumanism

Jennifer HubermanSocial Science
Transhumanism

Author: Jennifer Huberman

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

ISBN: 9781108835930

Category: Social Science

Page: 305

View: 785

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Through a detailed exploration of the study of transhumanism, this book introduces students to the discipline of cultural anthropology.

A Transhumanist Journal

Zoltan IstvanPhilosophy
A Transhumanist Journal

Author: Zoltan Istvan

Publisher:

ISBN: 1736342622

Category: Philosophy

Page: 176

View: 272

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After publishing his bestselling novel The Transhumanist Wager in 2013, Zoltan Istvan began frequently writing essays about the future. A former journalist with National Geographic, Istvan's essays spanned topics from the Singularity to cyborgism to radical longevity to futurist philosophy. He also wrote about politics as he made a surprisingly popular run for the US Presidency in 2016, touring the country aboard his coffin-shaped Immortality Bus, which The New York Times Magazine called "The great sarcophagus of the American highway...a metaphor of life itself." Zoltan's provocative campaign and radical tech-themed articles garnered him the title of the "Science Candidate" by his supporters. Many of his writings-published in Vice, Quartz, Slate, The Guardian, Yahoo! News, Gizmodo, TechCruch, Psychology Today, Salon, New Scientist, Business Insider, The Daily Dot, Maven, Cato Institute, The Daily Caller, Metro, International Business Times, Wired UK, The San Francisco Chronicle, Newsweek, and The New York Times-went viral on the internet, garnishing millions of reads and tens of thousands of comments. His articles-often seen as controversial, provocative, and secular-elevated him to worldwide recognition as one of the de facto leaders of the burgeoning transhumanism movement. Here are many of those watershed essays again, organized, edited, and occasionally readapted by the author in this comprehensive nonfiction work, A Transhumanist Journal: Writings that Launched the Transhumanism Movement-part of a forthcoming box set book collection of his work focusing on futurism, secularism, life extension, politics, philosophy, transhumanism and his early writings. Also included are some of Zoltan's new essays, never published before. Enjoy reading about the future according to Zoltan Istvan.

On Transhumanism

Stefan Lorenz SorgnerPhilosophy
On Transhumanism

Author: Stefan Lorenz Sorgner

Publisher: Penn State Press

ISBN: 9780271088419

Category: Philosophy

Page: 89

View: 566

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Transhumanism is widely misunderstood, in part because the media have exaggerated current technologies and branded the movement as dangerous, leading many to believe that hybrid humans may soon walk among us and that immortality, achieved by means of mind-uploading, is imminent. In this essential and clarifying volume, Stefan Lorenz Sorgner debunks widespread myths about transhumanism and tackles the most pressing ethical issues in the debate over technologically assisted human enhancement. On Transhumanism is a vital primer on the subject, written by a world-renowned expert. In this book, Sorgner presents an overview of the movement’s history, capably summarizing the twelve pillars of transhumanist discourse and explaining the great diversity of transhumanist responses to each individual topic. He highlights the urgent ethical challenges related to the latest technological developments, inventions, and innovations and compares the unique cultural standing of transhumanism to other cultural movements, placing it within the broader context of the Enlightenment, modernity, postmodernity, and the philosophical writings of Nietzsche. Engagingly written and translated and featuring an introduction for North American readers, this comprehensive overview of the cultural and philosophical movement of transhumanism will be required reading for students of posthumanist philosophy and for general audiences interested in learning about the transhumanist movement.

Transhumanism

David LivingstoneHistory
Transhumanism

Author: David Livingstone

Publisher: David Livingstone

ISBN: 9781515232575

Category: History

Page: 404

View: 115

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Transhumanism is a recent movement that extols man’s right to shape his own evolution, by maximizing the use of scientific technologies, to enhance human physical and intellectual potential. While the name is new, the idea has long been a popular theme of science fiction, featured in such films as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, the Terminator series, and more recently, The Matrix, Limitless, Her and Transcendence. However, as its adherents hint at in their own publications, transhumanism is an occult project, rooted in Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry, and derived from the Kabbalah, which asserts that humanity is evolving intellectually, towards a point in time when man will become God. Modeled on the medieval legend of the Golem and Frankenstein, they believe man will be able to create life itself, in the form of living machines, or artificial intelligence. Spearheaded by the Cybernetics Group, the project resulted in both the development of the modern computer and MK-Ultra, the CIA’s “mind-control” program. MK-Ultra promoted the “mind-expanding” potential of psychedelic drugs, to shape the counterculture of the 1960s, based on the notion that the shamans of ancient times used psychoactive substances, equated with the “apple” of the Tree of Knowledge. And, as revealed in the movie Lucy, through the use of “smart drugs,” and what transhumanists call “mind uploading,” man will be able to merge with the Internet, which is envisioned as the end-point of Kabbalistic evolution, the formation of a collective consciousness, or Global Brain. That awaited moment is what Ray Kurzweil, a director of engineering at Google, refers to as The Singularly. By accumulating the total of human knowledge, and providing access to every aspect of human activity, the Internet will supposedly achieve omniscience, becoming the “God” of occultism, or the Masonic All-Seeing Eye of the reverse side of the American dollar bill.

The Transhumanism Handbook

Newton LeeComputers
The Transhumanism Handbook

Author: Newton Lee

Publisher: Springer

ISBN: 9783030169206

Category: Computers

Page: 863

View: 322

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Modern humanity with some 5,000 years of recorded history has been experiencing growing pains, with no end in sight. It is high time for humanity to grow up and to transcend itself by embracing transhumanism. Transhumanism offers the most inclusive ideology for all ethnicities and races, the religious and the atheists, conservatives and liberals, the young and the old regardless of socioeconomic status, gender identity, or any other individual qualities. This book expounds on contemporary views and practical advice from more than 70 transhumanists. Astronaut Neil Armstrong said on the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Transhumanism is the next logical step in the evolution of humankind, and it is the existential solution to the long-term survival of the human race.

Human Entrance to Transhumanism

James Tunney
Human Entrance to Transhumanism

Author: James Tunney

Publisher: Independently Published

ISBN: 9798475734766

Category:

Page: 290

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Transhumanism is a movement which aims to remake humanity through technology. Humanity will be fabricated and natural evolution will end. It is merely a new manifestation of an older desire for scientific control of the world. Transhumanism seeks fabrication by fascination. We have been entranced by media propaganda. We are yielding the spirit of the race. Transhumanism represents a technique akin to magic. If we do not become aware of the danger of use of enhancement as a subterfuge for mass control we may end in a magicians dream. While transhumanists might genuinely want longer lives, more intelligence and more happiness, the implications of the movement are much deeper beyond the realm of individuals legitimately choosing their own path in life. The transhumanist narrative as part of the black magic of materialism is an ad for add-ons that does not add up. Without a commitment to the individual, human person and the importance of their consciousness the human race will be sacrificed.

What Does it Mean to be Human? Life, Death, Personhood and the Transhumanist Movement

D. John DoylePhilosophy
What Does it Mean to be Human? Life, Death, Personhood and the Transhumanist Movement

Author: D. John Doyle

Publisher: Springer

ISBN: 9783319949505

Category: Philosophy

Page: 213

View: 587

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This book is a critical examination of the philosophical and moral issues in relation to human enhancement and the various related medical developments that are now rapidly moving from the laboratory into the clinical realm. In the book, the author critically examines technologies such as genetic engineering, neural implants, pharmacologic enhancement, and cryonic suspension from transhumanist and bioconservative positions, focusing primarily on moral issues and what it means to be a human in a setting where technological interventions sometimes impact strongly on our humanity. The author also introduces the notion that death is a process rather than an event, as well as identifies philosophical and clinical limitations in the contemporary determination of brain death as a precursor to organ procurement for transplantation. The discussion on what exactly it means to be dead is later applied to explore philosophical and clinical issues germane to the cryonics movement. Written by a physician/ scientist and heavily referenced to the peer-reviewed medical and scientific literature, the book is aimed at advanced students and academics but should be readable by any intelligent reader willing to carry out some side-reading. No prior knowledge of moral philosophy is assumed, as the various key approaches to moral philosophy are outlined early in the book.