Transhumanism

Humanity now faces several challenges. Which ones are the most important?

Achieving unlimited lifespan and making civilization indestructible.

Yep, that's it, the transhumanism.

Conservation of the planet Earth and its natural resources.

Transhumanism is essentially humanism. This means that the value of human life for TG is paramount. Earth, nature—all this is great, but it makes no sense without people. Transhumanism supports any ecological initiative which goal is to prolong human life and humanity's existence in the universe. And it does not support initiatives that put the interests of nature ahead of human life.

Ensuring the availability of education and equal opportunities for every person on Earth.

TG is certainly in favor of both. All the more so because it all contributes to the main goal. But the goal itself is more global—see Option 1.

Preserving the diversity of life on Earth, preventing the extermination of animals, even at the cost of human survival.

Human life is more important than the life of any other animal. But we are in favor of preserving fauna and treating all living creatures as humanely as possible. Cultivating artificial meat, abandoning hunting, circuses, and cruel treatment of living creatures are important humanistic tasks, in which emerging technologies will help, too.

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What will the growing power of technology lead to?

To the destruction of mankind.

Maybe it will. Maybe it wont.

Toward a substantial extension of human life and the expansion of intelligence into the universe.

Maybe it will. Maybe it wont.

Either one or the other.

Transhumanism sees both opportunities and threats from technology. It is all up to us.

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A person's death is...

... the natural course of things, which should not be disturbed. It's nature's way of doing things.

Natural in the sense that we see it all the time? Yes. But in the sense that we don't have to do anything about it—no. The flu is also natural. But for some reason we don't accept the idea of getting sick and dying from the flu.

... the major tragedy of human life.

Yes. Death has no excuse.

... a necessary process for the evolution of mankind.

We have long since grown out of the baby pants of evolution. We no longer need to die in the hope that some thousandth generation after us will suddenly acquire a useful mutation that will improve our poor eyesight by one diopter. We can already make glasses now. Moreover, we already have gene therapy in our arsenal, and soon enough we will learn to completely control the genome.

... something that gives meaning to life, motivates you to do something in time.

Some will argue that you don't even start any complicated time consuming projects during your lifetime, because you know you won't make it.

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For the sake of other people's lives, sometimes you have to sacrifice your own life. Do you agree?

Yes, it is a matter of honor for any person.

Where did you get that from? Maybe where your death is really needed? For example, in the military? Or in a patriotic movie?

Yes, for example, for future generations.

A person is irreplaceable. The birth of others does not justify the death of those now living.

No. Why are you forcing this on me?

Transhumanism does not require sacrificing one's own life for the lives of others. It is usually a requirement of states, religion, and military propaganda.

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Nevertheless, in transhumanism there is room for a gest. It can be ...

... the denial of pleasure and the expenditure of all one's resources in favor of transhumanism.

Transhumanism does not imply asceticism. Pleasure is one of the things we live for. It is a source for strength for yet to be achieved victory over aging. There simply has to be a reasonable balance between the resources spent on life itself and the resources spent on prolonging it. It's up to you, of course, though. (it's a good option, it's just all options are good here.)

...the abandonment of excessive pleasure in favor of advances in life-extending technology.

Slowing down aging for all mankind is more rational than personal enrichment. Yes, even a gest in TG is simply rational behavior. Altruism that benefits you personally as well. (that's a good one, it's just that all the choices here are good.)

...creating a unicorn startup and use all the profits for TG projects.

Yes, we like it!

... spending all your time recruiting people into transhumanism.

Not bad!!! (it's a good option, it's just that all the options here are good)

... taking advantage of your social position to bring some TG project to life.

Yep, an option too.! (it's a good option, it's just that all the options here are good)

All of the above.

Yes, we like all the options, too.

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What are the priority areas for transhumanism?

Fighting aging

Sure. But there is a better answer here.

Cyborgization, organ manufacturing and tissue preservation technologies, cryonics.

All of these are transhumanism. But there is still a better answer here.

Modeling brain activity, human-computer interface, digital immortality.

All of these are transhumanism. But there is still a better answer here.

Creating nanorobots

All of these are transhumanism. But there is still a better answer here.

Artificial Intelligence

All of these are transhumanism. But there is still a better answer here.

All of the above

Yes, if possible, we need to develop all these areas, because we do not know what will give the best result yet.

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Is there a place for politics in transhumanism?

Yes

Politics is a competition of images of the future. And transhumanism is a concept of the future, thus it cannot be outside of politics. The acceleration of progress is a derivative of the political processes. And we need a society aimed at preserving human life.

Not necessarily

Politics is a competition of images of the future. And transhumanism is a concept of the future, thus it cannot be outside of politics. The acceleration of progress is a derivative of the political processes. And we need a society aimed at preserving human life.

No

Politics is a competition of images of the future. And transhumanism is a concept of the future, thus it cannot be outside of politics. The acceleration of progress is a derivative of the political processes. And we need a society aimed at preserving human life.

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Can art help the industry of life extension?

No, you can't cure a tumor with a pretty picture. Only science will help us.

Think again. Doesn't art shape human behavior?

Not necessarily

That you can answer any question. So what? We have to try every tool available.

Yes, art will help in the cause of popularization.

People often do not hear rational arguments. And to make the rational ideas of transhumanism understandable and popular, we need art: movies, TV series, graphic art, performance art, music, books...

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Radical life extension is a task that requires your participation. Do you agree?

Yes

That's the kind of transhumanists we like.

No, it's not up to me.

It may be true that you lack the competence to contribute to the development of science and technology. But there is room in TG for people of many professions: artists, screenwriters, politicians, lobbyists... And most importantly, you can always make your contribution by openly supporting the ideas of TG, by expressing your position. In any case, transhumanism is about practical steps in science, economics, politics and culture, not just a dream of a bright future.

No, that's God's will.

This approach does not seem transhumanistic to us.

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You shouldn't be afraid of death. Do you agree?

Yes, because there is certainly afterlife in some way or another.

It is reckless to count on an afterlife. Death is real, and the afterlife is made up to reconcile a person with reality.

Only sinners or cowards fear death.

You probably call everyone who crosses the road in a proper manner cowards, don't you? Fear of death is the desire to avoid it. Even if a person is really emotionally afraid of death, such behavior does not look cowardly to us, but seems as rational and conscious as possible.

Whether to be afraid or not is up to you. But avoiding it is the essence of rational thinking.

That's it.

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In the search for immortality I can only count on...

... life after death.

We don't believe in such things, sorry.

... my children's lives.

They are, after all, very different people. Even your genetic information is only half of what they retain.

... everything I create in my lifetime: works of art, contributions to the community around me, everything I create at work or in my spare time.

I'm sorry, but it seems to us that this is just a way to soothe yourself in the face of death. That doesn't work, your creations can't replace your life in any way. You will die and not even be able to rejoice that someone hasn't forgotten that it was you who sewed that button on your shirt.

... science and technology.

It is science and technology that can protect life and spread it across the universe.

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How do you feel about human cloning?

Positive, but with the limitations that some developed countries have now: we can clone human cells and let them live only up to two weeks.

Nope, that's not transhumanistic enough, sorry.

Successful human cloning will be a symbol of progress.

Welcome to transhumanism.

Negative. Medical and scientific ethics exist for a reason. Everything has to have limits. We all know what the Overton Window is...

It seems to us sometimes that this kind of ethics is just unethical and against human life.

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Which is more important: prolonging life or prolonging its healthy period?

Of course, it is more important to prolong a healthy life. I don't want to be a vegetable for 50 years.

It's a trap and you're caught. You don't have to choose at all.

The most important thing is to stay alive as long as possible and at all costs.

We like the way you think. Moreover, you are right. But it is a trap and you are caught. You don't have to choose here.

Radical life extension does not exclude, but rather implies the extension of a healthy period of life.

If we look at centenarian people and long-lived animals, we can see they not only live long, but also experience the collapse of their health later in life. It is hard to imagine that we can extend human life without extending its healthy period. Suggesting a choice between a long life and a long healthy life is absurd.

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Can transhumanism be classified as effective altruism?

No, because transhumanism is inherently selfish.

Anyone can be selfish, and transhumanists are no strangers to anything human. But in its essence, TG is about helping not only ourselves, but all of humanity. It is humanism, just with an emphasis on technology and a demand for active action, with a rejection of inaction. Is this selfishness?

Transhumanism and human life extension are the pinnacle of effective altruism.

Yes, because it proposes to fight for human life at all costs. And defeated aging could be the most effective of all humanist projects, because it would save all the people on the planet at once.

In a way, yes.

You're being careful. You have to be more decisive when it comes to transhumanism.

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Not everything has been done for immortality yet. And perhaps most importantly we have not done this:

Not enough smart people have united around the idea.

Life offers us a test: whether rational people can unite in the struggle against death. The struggle for life is the essence of the common cause.

People have not begun to adhere to a healthy lifestyle.

A healthy lifestyle is good, but it's not enough. Not a single person has yet extended their life radically by simply sticking to a daily routine, eating right, and avoiding stress. And frankly all of this is not that guaranteed to prolong life to say 100 years old.

A massive International Longevity Research Institute was not built.

That's right. But we believe that the lack of an institution is a consequence of people not uniting.

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Transhumane Test