On Saturday 24 July the day finally came- lunch with Mormon Transhumanist Association (MTA) president, Lincoln Cannon! I've been looking forward to this lunch for a while, having first learned of Lincoln and the MTA when learning about human enhancement in Bioethics a few months ago. Lincoln and I have commented on each others' blogs and have thought/written about similar subjects. I anticipated our face-to-face, and was not disappointed! My two favorite quotes:
-"We're built to have the aesthetics of our posthumanity resonate within us."
-"Mormonism is religious transhumanism."
For an explanation of the basics of transhumanism, see 1) the wikipedia article, 2) the MTA website, and 3) my blog post on the related subject of the ethics of human enhancement.
We met at Fuddrucker's at noon- Lincoln, me, and my buddy Craig Janis (I invited Craig to sub for my ldsphilospher.com author-friend Jeff Thayne, whose flight was delayed in Chicago). I will relate the meeting by listing insights, names, and resources.
Insights:
- Lincoln is a thoughtful, articulate, and friendly person. I was impressed by his framing during conversation, e.g. he'd say "let me answer that with a short response, then a longer response that more explicitly answers your question." The framing helped make his conversation clear and followable.
- Lincoln majored in Philosophy at BYU, served in south France (as did my brother), has three boys, oldest age 12, and has lived in Orem since he graduated.
- Lincoln is smart and insightful, and sometimes eloquent.
- 90% of the MTA membership is male. I really wonder why that is. When it comes to philosophy, evolution, homosexual issues and the church, religious epistemology, etc. I overwhelmingly encounter the ideas, writings, and activism of men. In my personal experience, the women I've talked to don't have much trouble understanding these concepts- the issues just don't seem to matter much to them. On average are women less curious about these issues? More focused on building social networks than being interested in this stuff? I'm not sure their lack of interest is a bad thing necessarily, but before my observation of the strong trend, I would've presumed about equal contribution from men and women. I asked my female friend about this disparity afterward, and she related her experience as a freshman in Philosophy thinking, "this is a bunch of stuff men thought of," and compared men:chick flicks :: women:philosophy.
- The MTA is the largest sub-organization of the World Transhumanist Association (WTA- now Humanity+) in the US
- The Follett discourse bent of the LDS faith predisposes it to transhumanism much more than most religions due to its explicit theosis.
- The New God Argument, a key MTA production, is entirely based on secular/non-religious assumptions (Video, Paper form, Revised Summary of the New God Argument (at Lincoln's blog)). We spent a lot of time discussing the argument and its implications (e.g. it's likely that an advanced, benevolent civilization exists and created our world).
- Perhaps God is not as physically discrete as I'd thought before (I always pictured Him about 6 feet tall, muscular, mature, and bearded, sitting in a nice chair either at home playing with the kids or in his Kolob office, occasionally taking business trips to appear to boy prophets. Joseph Smith: "God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens...I say, if you were to see him to-day, you would see him like a man in form -- like yourselves, in all the person, image, and very form as a man...."). D&C 88:45-49, however, seems to indicate that perhaps some planetary bodies are part of God- and thus, perhaps, part of His anatomy. By way of comparison, as we see our computers going from warehouse size to ipod size to integrateable with our bodies (e.g. cochlear implants, brain devices that stimulate portions of the brain to put Alzheimer's in abeyance, pacemakers) it is not difficult to imagine a more seamless human consciousness network: instead of an independent Internet/google/wikipedia, the sum of all human knowledge is integrated- thus, as a people rather than as individuals we are Gods in embryo, and collectively can eventually attain the level of functionality of God (omnipotence and omniscience). Craig noted that none of us acquire Godhood independently (instead, each requires a spouse, and I would add Christ as well), so it's not a big stretch to presume that deification is communitarian.
- It's both difficult to tell and not very useful to resolve the question of whether this world is "real" or a "simulation." Whether it was contrived or created doesn't seem to matter as much as whether it experientially feels "real." The brain can't discriminate between real and virtual (a common fault of internalism), which to me has two implications: 1) despite His omniscience and overcoming of most orders of ignorance, God would be unable to discern whether He is living out another's computation/simulation, and 2) visions of God or His visitations needn't be "actual" as long as they are legitimate. Whether God physically appears or whether He simply plugs your optic nerve USB into the Celestial Network real-time vid of God's office matters very little. Lincoln noted the fantasy games we create on computers, noting that software is physical and material, just as our thoughts are physical and material, yet both constitute created worlds and both are integrated into the anatomy of its platform (the computer or our brains, respectively). Similarly, this world may very literally be part of God's anatomy.
- Mormons believe in transhumanism at least in that they believe in a universal resurrection resulting in immortality (and for most, enhanced capacities for travel, cognition, health, and other functions). A resurrected state is a posthuman state- and seeking to obtain such an advanced state is a righteous goal.
Names:
(I note affiliations where known)
- Don Bradley
- Steven Peck (my bioethics professor, who is helping to marry organic evolution and LDS theology)
- Dennis Rasmussen (BYU philosophy faculty)
- Jim Faulkner (BYU philosophy faculty)
- Nick Bostrum (well-known transhumanist)
- Steven Pinker (author of History of Violence)
- Joseph West (Lincoln's friend and one of the 14 founders of the MTA)
- James Hughes
- Rob Lauer (Reformed Mormonism fellow)
Resources:
- Lincoln's blog
- The Journal of Evolution and Technology (JET)
- H+ magazine
- H+ blog
- H+ website
- By Common Consent, a well-known LDS blog
- Times and Seasons, a well-known LDS blog
- Feminist Mormon Housewives, a well-known LDS blog
- MTA's blog list
- Reformed Mormonism homepage
- MTA>about>feeds
- Mormon Mentality blog
- Sunstone blog
- Giulio Prisco blog
-Steven Peck blog
- Bruce Webster blog
- Lloyd Ericson blog
- Society of Mormon Philosophy and Theology homepage
- Transvision, a transhumanist conference
- Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies
- Lincoln's recommended videos (4)
I joined the MTA on 26 July, 2010, declaring my agreement with the Transhumanist Declaration and the Mormon Transhumanist Affirmation.
Showing posts with label transhumanism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transhumanism. Show all posts
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Enhancement Ethics: Gattaca and the New Kids on the Block
Genetically superior humans constitute a separate class from "natural" people in the movie Gattaca. The two classes are called "Valid" and "In-Valid," and the movie depicts an against-all-odds victory by an In-Valid, illustrating the subtitle: "there is no gene for the human spirit." Below I make a case advocating an embrace of human enhancement and comparable technologies.
First, I list the technologies/enhancements that I think will be forthcoming. Remember, if you don't build it, biopunks will. :) I call these forthcoming realities "New Kids on the Block:"
Bonobobob (1/2 human, 1/2 bonobo chimp)
Sheepgoats (part sheep part goat)
Transgenic mammals (only plants thus far express genes that are virally inserted, sometimes using genetic material from other kingdoms)
Transgenic rDNA people (e.g. a diabetic that can synthesize his own insulin instead of relying on bacterial cultures to produce it for him)
Eliminating diabetes and and cystic fibrosis ("follow smallpox's lead, oh diseases- we the people disfellowship, banish, and otherwise eradicate you!")
Gay pill (some surgery or intervention you can take to reverse your sexual orientation)
Senescence pill (some surgery or intervention you can take to reverse or slow aging)
Woolly Mammoths in the zoo (their genome has been genotyped; your grandkids will likely experience this under current trends)
Neanderthal bringbacks (also genotyped; cloning technologies + current ability to manufacture DNA from scratch in the lab = only a matter of time)
Further extinct species reinstatement (it's already happened once with the Pyrenean Ibex)
All sorts of transhumans
- "the contemporary meaning is a product of the 1980s when futurists in the United States began to organize what has since grown into the transhumanist movement. Transhumanist thinkers predict that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label "posthuman".[1]")
- "the "movement that epitomizes the most daring, courageous, imaginative, and idealistic aspirations of humanity".[5]"
- one of the deepest fienings of man is encapsulated by the "No Fear" t-shirt motto: "know your limits, then break 'em!"
- suspended animation
- radical lifespan extension
- space colonization
- boundless energy and ambition
- bionic implants
- artificial intelligence/human combos
- expanded consciousness
- supersoldiers
- reduced or eliminated need for sleep (Brigham Young- "I thirst no more, I want to sleep no more, I hunger no more, I tire no more, I run, I walk, I labor, I go, I come, I do this, I do that, whatever is required of me, nothing like pain or weariness, I am full of life, full of vigor...- see footnote 6 below)
- radically reduced travel time (distance no longer a significant obstacle)
First, I list the technologies/enhancements that I think will be forthcoming. Remember, if you don't build it, biopunks will. :) I call these forthcoming realities "New Kids on the Block:"
Bonobobob (1/2 human, 1/2 bonobo chimp)
Sheepgoats (part sheep part goat)
Transgenic mammals (only plants thus far express genes that are virally inserted, sometimes using genetic material from other kingdoms)
Transgenic rDNA people (e.g. a diabetic that can synthesize his own insulin instead of relying on bacterial cultures to produce it for him)
Eliminating diabetes and and cystic fibrosis ("follow smallpox's lead, oh diseases- we the people disfellowship, banish, and otherwise eradicate you!")
Gay pill (some surgery or intervention you can take to reverse your sexual orientation)
Senescence pill (some surgery or intervention you can take to reverse or slow aging)
Woolly Mammoths in the zoo (their genome has been genotyped; your grandkids will likely experience this under current trends)
Neanderthal bringbacks (also genotyped; cloning technologies + current ability to manufacture DNA from scratch in the lab = only a matter of time)
Further extinct species reinstatement (it's already happened once with the Pyrenean Ibex)
All sorts of transhumans
- "the contemporary meaning is a product of the 1980s when futurists in the United States began to organize what has since grown into the transhumanist movement. Transhumanist thinkers predict that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label "posthuman".[1]")
- "the "movement that epitomizes the most daring, courageous, imaginative, and idealistic aspirations of humanity".[5]"
- one of the deepest fienings of man is encapsulated by the "No Fear" t-shirt motto: "know your limits, then break 'em!"
- suspended animation
- radical lifespan extension
- space colonization
- boundless energy and ambition
- bionic implants
- artificial intelligence/human combos
- expanded consciousness
- supersoldiers
- reduced or eliminated need for sleep (Brigham Young- "I thirst no more, I want to sleep no more, I hunger no more, I tire no more, I run, I walk, I labor, I go, I come, I do this, I do that, whatever is required of me, nothing like pain or weariness, I am full of life, full of vigor...- see footnote 6 below)
- radically reduced travel time (distance no longer a significant obstacle)
- Abolitionism, an ethical ideology based upon a perceived obligation to use technology to eliminate involuntary suffering in all sentient life.[45]
- Democratic transhumanism, a political ideology synthesizing liberal democracy, social democracy, radical democracy and transhumanism.[46]
- Extropianism, an early school of transhumanist thought characterized by a set of principles advocating a proactive approach to human evolution.[19]
- Immortalism, a moral ideology based upon the belief that technological immortality is possible and desirable, and advocating research and development to ensure its realization.[47]
- Libertarian transhumanism, a political ideology synthesizing libertarianism and transhumanism.[43]
- Postgenderism, a social philosophy which seeks the voluntary elimination of gender in the human species through the application of advanced biotechnology and assisted reproductive technologies.[48]
- Singularitarianism, a moral ideology based upon the belief that a technological singularity is possible, and advocating deliberate action to effect it and ensure its safety.[40]
- Technogaianism, an ecological ideology based upon the belief that emerging technologies can help restore Earth's environment, and that developing safe, clean, alternative technologyshould therefore be an important goal of environmentalists.[46]
Second, I argue for ethically permitting (at the least) and advocating (at the most) the development of the New Kids on the Block and their neighbors.
Supporting Argument A
We already justify dozens of human enhancements (or human enhancement-like aids- see source 1 and source 2 below for more on the debate about the existence of a distinction between enhancements and non-enhancements).
- educating children, braces, glasses, medical care, reading books, iphones, etc.
- institution-based security, vaccines, democracy, rule of law, food storage
Other enhancements are merely different types or degrees within a bounded region on the same normative spectrum- thus blocking some enhancements but not others merely on a basis of timing of development (i.e. the class of enhancements "not yet developed" v. those that have already been) seems facially indefensible.
Supporting Argument B
Mankind has a destiny, as individuals do, to progress. However, man comes into the world incredibly stupid, ignorant, and vulnerable to harm and death. Thus, the best available means to advance humanity is to permit an environment that is likely to continually challenge human limits.
Another religious iteration of this argument/principle was elucidated in a story shared during General Conference in April of '10. Brigham Young was about to administer to the sick, but asked if the person had administered any remedies yet. Brigham taught that we should apply remedies where available first, and that God will make up for the lack of the technology if that's your circumstance. One could argue that resurrection and immortality are no longer as far from our grasp as they have been in the past. We still rely on God for forgiveness and can't save ourselves spiritually, but resurrection/restoring the dead to life and creating perpetual bodies (immortality) are now cognizable. Plus, our eventual destiny anyway is to become post-human, i.e. like God, who has a vastly superior body (invulnerable to violence, incredibly smart, strong, capable, beautiful, immortal, etc.). Certainly God can do some of the heavy lifting for us- but more often He encourages and helps us develop self-reliance where feasible. Transhumanist endeavors might prove to be appropriate self-reliance efforts.
Supporting Argument C
Many knee-jerk counterarguments are based on "I take umbrage merely because it's new or different," a playing God, or a wrong because-unnatural fallacy, none of which advance the counter's side (which is that it's ethically impermissible to pursue these enhancements and technologies). See my post for why these counterarguments don't advance the ball for the opposition.
Supporting Argument D
A lot of these enhancements' panache captures the imagination. They're just cool!
Counterargument E
Further development of the genetic and enhancement technologies listed above may lead to a technocracy, which like most discriminating systems, has many negative consequences, some of which may prove egregiously right-infringing. Omnis innovatio plus novitate perturbat quam utilitate prodeat - "every innovation disturbs more by its novelty than it benefits by its utility." There are tons of risks inherent in pursuing transhumanist objectives, e.g.
Supporting Argument A
We already justify dozens of human enhancements (or human enhancement-like aids- see source 1 and source 2 below for more on the debate about the existence of a distinction between enhancements and non-enhancements).
- educating children, braces, glasses, medical care, reading books, iphones, etc.
- institution-based security, vaccines, democracy, rule of law, food storage
Supporting Argument B
Mankind has a destiny, as individuals do, to progress. However, man comes into the world incredibly stupid, ignorant, and vulnerable to harm and death. Thus, the best available means to advance humanity is to permit an environment that is likely to continually challenge human limits.
Permitting transhumanist endeavors is an expression of humility. Natural selection applies, not just to genes, but to culture, law, public health, economics, and government. 250 years ago, compared to today, America was largely racist, subject to tyranny, impoverished, exhibited high infant mortality, etc. The American Experiment resulted in greater equality and rule of law, lower infant mortality, improved living standards, information technology advancement, widespread enjoyment of constitutional liberties, etc. Therefore, we must permit experiments as long as projected costs don't clearly outweigh projected benefits. Uncertainty should result in permitting experiment because we're not smart enough now to know that the status quo is better than what the future will hold. (Hence, my claim that permitting transhumanist endeavors is an expression of humility). A 1760 panel arrogating a moratorium on experimenting with public health, engineering, agriculture, government system, and law would have frozen the status quo, thereby precluding the valuable advancements that have occurred since that time. Is there some reason to conclude that our present day is not as primitive from the perspective of a 2260 historian as 1760 seems to us now? The year 2260, 250 years from now, is the blink of an eye historically- yet the interim is pregnant with the promise of continuing to exceed historic human limitations.
The chief characteristic of saints is that they make a heaven out of whatever circumstance they're in- be it making the desert blossom as a rose or hell itself: "I see no faults in the Church, and therefore let me be resurrected with the Saints, whether I ascend to heaven or descend to hell, or go to any other place. And if we go to hell, we will turn the devils out of doors and make a heaven of it." - Joseph Smith. Plus, the LDS faith buys into theosis pretty heavily.
Another religious iteration of this argument/principle was elucidated in a story shared during General Conference in April of '10. Brigham Young was about to administer to the sick, but asked if the person had administered any remedies yet. Brigham taught that we should apply remedies where available first, and that God will make up for the lack of the technology if that's your circumstance. One could argue that resurrection and immortality are no longer as far from our grasp as they have been in the past. We still rely on God for forgiveness and can't save ourselves spiritually, but resurrection/restoring the dead to life and creating perpetual bodies (immortality) are now cognizable. Plus, our eventual destiny anyway is to become post-human, i.e. like God, who has a vastly superior body (invulnerable to violence, incredibly smart, strong, capable, beautiful, immortal, etc.). Certainly God can do some of the heavy lifting for us- but more often He encourages and helps us develop self-reliance where feasible. Transhumanist endeavors might prove to be appropriate self-reliance efforts.
Supporting Argument C
Many knee-jerk counterarguments are based on "I take umbrage merely because it's new or different," a playing God, or a wrong because-unnatural fallacy, none of which advance the counter's side (which is that it's ethically impermissible to pursue these enhancements and technologies). See my post for why these counterarguments don't advance the ball for the opposition.
Supporting Argument D
A lot of these enhancements' panache captures the imagination. They're just cool!
Counterargument E
Further development of the genetic and enhancement technologies listed above may lead to a technocracy, which like most discriminating systems, has many negative consequences, some of which may prove egregiously right-infringing. Omnis innovatio plus novitate perturbat quam utilitate prodeat - "every innovation disturbs more by its novelty than it benefits by its utility." There are tons of risks inherent in pursuing transhumanist objectives, e.g.
- 5.1 Infeasibility (Futurehype argument)
- 5.2 Hubris (Playing God argument)
- 5.3 Contempt for the flesh (Fountain of Youth argument)
- 5.4 Trivialization of human identity (Enough argument)
- 5.5 Genetic divide (Gattaca argument)
- 5.6 Threats to morality and democracy (Brave New World argument)
- 5.7 Dehumanization (Frankenstein argument)
- 5.8 Specter of coercive eugenicism (Eugenics Wars argument)
- 5.9 Existential risks (Terminator argument)
Adding all of these arguments together, I conclude that the development of the New Kids on the Block and their neighbors is at least ethically permissible.
For more:
1. Source 1- Ethical Issues in Human Enhancement, Nick Bostrom & Rebecca Roache (2007)
[Forthcoming in New Waves in Applied Ethics, ed. Jesper Ryberg (Palgrave Macmillan)]
2. Source 2- Untangling the Debate: The Ethics of Human Enhancement, Patrick Lin & Fritz Allhoff [Nanoethics (2008) 2:251–264]
3. More on the ethics of human genetic engineering: Simmons, D. (2008) Genetic inequality: Human genetic engineering. Nature Education
4. Interesting predictions of an author in 1923: "geneticist J.B.S. Haldane's 1923 essay Daedalus: Science and the Future, which predicted that great benefits would come from applications of advanced sciences to human biology—and that every such advance would first appear to someone as blasphemy or perversion, "indecent and unnatural"."
5. Listen to "New Way to be Human" - a song by switchfoot
Everday it's the same thing
Another trend has begun
Hey kids, this might be the one
It's a race to be noticed
And it's leaving us numb
Hey kids, we can't be the ones
With all of our fashion
We're still incomplete
The God of redemption
Could break our routine
There's a new way to be human
It's nothing we've ever been
There's a new way to be human
New way to be human
And where is our inspiration?
When all the heroes are are gone
Hey kids, could we be the ones?
'Cause nobody's famous
And nobody's fine
We all need forgiveness
We're longing inside
There's a new way to be human
It's nothing we've ever been
There's a new way to be human
It's spreading under my skin
There's a new way to be human
Where divinity blends
With a new way to be human
New way to be human
You're throwing your love across
my impossible space
You've created me
Take me out of me into...
A new way to be human
To a new way to be human
You're a new way to be human
Where my humanity bends
To a new way to be human
Redemption begins
You're a new way to be human
You're the only way to be human
6.
-“All men know that they must die. And it is important that we should understand the reasons and causes of our exposure to the vicissitudes of life and of death, and the designs and purposes of God in our coming into the world, our sufferings here, and our departure hence. What is the object of our coming into existence, then dying and falling away, to be here no more? It is but reasonable to suppose that God would reveal something in reference to the matter, and it is a subject we ought to study more than any other. We ought to study it day and night, for the world is ignorant in reference to their true condition and relation. If we have any claim on our Heavenly Father for anything, it is for knowledge on this important subject” (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 6:50).
-“We shall turn round and look upon [the valley of death] and think, when we have crossed it, why this is the greatest advantage of my whole existence, for I have passed from a state of sorrow, grief, mourning, woe, misery, pain, anguish and disappointment into a state of existence, where I can enjoy life to the fullest extent as far as that can be done without a body. My spirit is set free, I thirst no more, I want to sleep no more, I hunger no more, I tire no more, I run, I walk, I labor, I go, I come, I do this, I do that, whatever is required of me, nothing like pain or weariness, I am full of life, full of vigor, and I enjoy the presence of my heavenly Father” (Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 17:142).
7. There's a well-developed mormon transhumanist association out there, complete with a Mormon Transhumanist Affirmation (also here). Some cool vids are available too (check 'em out, they're cool!).
8. Reaching by Carolyn Arends
'Cause the more we learn the more we know
We don't know anything
But still it seems a tragic fate
Living with this quiet ache
The constant strain for what remains
Just out of reach
We are reaching for the future
We are reaching for the past
And no matter what we have we reach for more
We are desperate to discover
What is just beyond our grasp
But maybe that's what Heaven is for
There are times I can't forget
Dressed up in my Sunday best
Trying not to squirm and to maybe learn
A bit of what the preacher preached
And later lying in the dark
I felt a stirring in my heart
And though I longed to see what could not be seen
I still believed
I guess, I shouldn't think it odd
Until we see the face of God
The yearning deep within us tells us
There's more to come
So when we taste of the divine
It leaves us hungry every time
For one more taste of what awaits
When Heaven's Gates are reached
We are reaching for the future
We are reaching for the past
And no matter what we have, we reach for more
We are desperate to discover
What is just beyond our grasp
But maybe that's what Heaven is for
I believe that's what Heaven is for
There's a time I can recall
Four years old and three feet tall
Trying to touch the stars and the cookie jar
And both were out of reach
9. I don't know where else on my blog to put these two somewhat related questions:
- If the prophecy of the last days paints a picture of increasing wickedness, moral degradation, and political erosion, doesn't it become somewhat heretical to seek significant and sustainable political, environmental, and social improvements, as their accomplishment would necessarily negate the fulfillment of the prophecy?
- How much of the variability in personality is heritable? Out of the remaining percentage attributable to environment, how much of the variability is attributable to epigenetic (intraorganismal environment), psychological, and environmental/nurturing factors? I would imagine the remaining variability would be attributable to our spirit identities. I wonder how much impact my ancient, pre-mortal-existing spirit has on my consciousness and personality (as compared to my biological identity).
Other cool blogs by Mormon 20-something's:
Connor's Conundrums about politics, religion, philosophy, etc.
ldsphilosopher.com - contrasting philosophy with revealed truth, by Jeff Thayne and Nathan Richardson
and a 30-something's: Lincoln Cannon: syncretizing religion, science, spirituality and technology
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