transhumanism / transhumanismus » Texts about Transhumanism

Immortality 2.0: a silicon valley insider looks at California’s Transhumanist movement

rheil — Sat, 23 May 2009 05:15:22 +0000

Immortality 2.0: a silicon valley insider looks at California’s Transhumanist movement

By Gelles, David, Publication: The Futurist, Date: Thursday, January 1 2009

„One afternoon in late 2007, a Yahoo executive named Salim Ismail stepped up to a podium at company headquarters to talk about what some call “the world’s most dangerous idea.” An intense man from India, Ismail faced a conference room packed with computer whizzes from the likes of Google, Apple, and Intel and launched into a tirade about the far frontiers of digital technology and the big battle that lay ahead.

“The current system is flawed,” he said, pacing the stage. He went on to talk about routers and interrupt systems, hardly exotic material to his audience. But even within this techy sanctum, his message was a bold one. The flawed system that Ismail lamented was not a computer network, it was the human brain. “We need to design a better one,” he said.“ [read original article]

Ship of Fools: Why Transhumanism is the Best Bet to Prevent the Extinction of Civilization

rheil — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 06:26:35 +0000

Ship of Fools: Why Transhumanism is the Best Bet to Prevent the Extinction of Civilization (by Mark Walker, The Global Spiral Feb. 2009, Vol 9, Issue 9)

“I want to explore the objection that transhumanism is an ill-advised experiment because it puts us at unnecessary risk. My reply will be that creating posthumans is our best bet for avoiding harm. In a nutshell, the argument is that even though creating posthumans may be a very dangerous social experiment, it is even more dangerous not to attempt it.” [read original article]

True Transhumanism

rheil — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 06:22:10 +0000

True Transhumanism (by Max More, The Global Spiral Feb. 2009, Vol 9, Issue 9)

“Transhumanists go beyond most of our traditional humanist predecessors in proposing fundamental alterations in human nature in pursuit of these improvements…Rather than accepting the undesirable aspects of the human condition, transhumanists of all stripes challenge natural and traditional limitations on our possibilities.” [read original article]

Die Vervollkommnung des Menschen

rheil — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:09:58 +0000

Oliver Krüger

Die Vervollkommnung des Menschen

Tod und Unsterblichkeit im Posthumanismus und Transhumanismus

Der Mensch ist unvollkommen. Neben den vielen kleinen körperlichen und geistigen Grenzen und den krankheitsbedingten Leiden haftet ihm vor allem ein Makel an: der Mensch ist sterblich. Seine Tage sind gezählt – herausragenden Exemplaren der Gattung Mensch gelingt es heutzutage immerhin, bis zu 38.000 mal das Werden und Vergehen eines Tages zu erleben, aber dann ist Schluss. Das wusste schon der mythische König Gilgamesh, der sich auf die Suche nach einem zauberhaften Unsterblichkeitskraut machte, und auch aus der Sicht des Soziologen Max Weber offenbarte sich im Faktum des Todes “die Sinnlosigkeit der rein innerweltlichen Selbstvervollkommnung zum Kulturmenschen”, die prägend sein sollte für eine sich säkular verstehende Moderne – denn trotz aller Sublimierungsversuche blieb der Tod. […]

Transhumanism, young whores and old bigots

rheil — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 05:33:44 +0000

Giulio Prisco (Transhumanar): Transhumanism, young whores and old bigots

(»In a letter to Max Born (source), Albert Einstein quoted ”the beautiful proverb: Junge Huren – alte Betschwestern (young whores – old bigots)”.

We have seen it happen so many times: once upon a time there was a wild teenager, sometimes naive but full of creativity and enthusiasm. Then (s)he has to learn some hard lessons, like that you are supposed to show at work at 8am in a formal suit. And then (s)he falls in the dullest mediocrity, forgets all wild and creative ideas of the past, and begins wearing formal suits even on Sunday mornings. (S)he may even, and this is really sad when it happens, become a boring, self-righteous, pompous and intolerant old bigot who hates teenagers for still having the aliveness that (s)he has lost. [...]«)

The Trouble with “Transhumanism”

rheil — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 08:52:20 +0000

Dale Carrico:The Trouble with “Transhumanism”: Part One

The term “transhumanist” may give people an identity at the cost of achieving their goals

By Dale Carrico (Betterhumans 12/17/2004)

(»I’m not a transhumanist, but I play one on Google.

It’s been happening more and more lately. A student or colleague or friend who does an online search for my name or stumbles upon some of my online writing asks, in a somewhat perplexed tone, “Are you one of these ‘transhumanists?’” And, “What is this whole ‘transhumanist’ thing about?” The more I think about these questions, the harder it is to answer them. And this is making me incredibly nervous. [....]«)

The Trouble with “Transhumanism”: Part Two (Betterhumans 12/22/2004)

To make real progress in discussions of radical technology, the first thing we need is new language

(»As I discussed in the first part of this series, I think that some supporters of radical technological outcomes overapply the term “transhumanist” to their strategic allies in ways that might needlessly alienate them, render them more vulnerable to rhetorical attack and, in so doing, frustrate the achievement of shared strategic ends. [...]«)

Journal of Evolution and Technology

rheil — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 15:09:33 +0000

Journal of Evolution and Technology

Rezension (deutsch) zu James Hughes: Citizen Cyborg. Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future

rheil — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 14:50:05 +0000

Rezension (deutsch) zu James Hughes: Citizen Cyborg. Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future, Cambridge 2004. ISBN 0-8133-4198-1.

Reinhard Heil: Der Transhumanismus

rheil — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 10:58:41 +0000

Reinhard Heil: Der Transhumanismus. [Sic et Non] (“Im Laufe der letzten zwei Jahrzehnte hat sich – vor allem in Kalifornien – eine Bewegung konstituiert, die es sich zum Ziel gesetzt hat, die Menschen in der uns bekannten Form zu überwinden, beziehungsweise den Menschen so weit zu verbessern, dass er in der Lage ist, den Herausforderungen des 21. Jahrhunderts gerecht zu werden: Der Transhumanismus.”)[PDF-Version]

Wired 2.10: Meet the Extropians [Wired, Oct 1994]

rheil — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 10:56:18 +0000

Wired 2.10: Meet the Extropians [Wired, Oct 1994] (“There’s been nothing like this movement – nothing this wild and extravagant – since way back in those bygone ages when people believed in things like progress, knowledge, and – let’s all shout it out, now – Growth!”)