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The Transhumanist Reader
Classical and Contemporary Essays on the Science, Technology, and Philosophy of the Human Future
“We are in the process of upgrading the human species, so we might as well do it with deliberation and foresight. A good first step is this book, which collects the smartest thinking available concerning the inevitable conflicts, challenges and opportunities arising as we re-invent ourselves. It's a core text for anyone making the future.” “This important book contains essays by many of the top thinkers in the field of transhumanism. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in the future of humankind.”
—Kevin Kelly, Senior Maverick for Wired
“Transhumanism has moved from a fringe concern to a mainstream academic movement with real intellectual credibility. This is a great taster of some of the best emerging work. In the last 10 years, transhumanism has spread not as a religion but as a creative rational endeavor.”
—Julian Savulescu, Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford
“The Transhumanist Reader is an important, provocative compendium critically exploring the history, philosophy, and ethics of transhumanism. The contributors anticipate crucial biopolitical, ecological and planetary implications of a radically technologically enhanced population.”
—Edward Keller, Director, Center for Transformative Media, Parsons The New School for Design
—Sonia Arrison, Best-selling author of 100 Plus: How The Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything
Max More (Edited by), M More (Author), Natasha Vita-More (Edited by)
9781118334317, Wiley
Paperback / softback, published 23 April 2013
480 pages
23.6 x 17 x 2.3 cm, 0.748 kg
“The book, with the exceptions mentioned, may be read by nearly anyone. It is a simple and straight way to make oneself an idea about a movement it is now impossible not to know.” “Edited by the internationally acclaimed founders of the philosophy and social movement of transhumanism, The Transhumanist Reader is an indispensable guide to our current state of knowledge of the quest to expand the frontiers of human nature.”
(Metapsychology, 19 November 2013)
(LIS Trends, 8 March 2013)
Review appeared in http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2013/jul/10/human-evolution-next-stages"
The Guardian 1st July 2013
The first authoritative and comprehensive survey of the origins and current state of transhumanist thinking The rapid pace of emerging technologies is playing an increasingly important role in overcoming fundamental human limitations. Featuring core writings by seminal thinkers in the speculative possibilities of the posthuman condition, essays address key philosophical arguments for and against human enhancement, explore the inevitability of life extension, and consider possible solutions to the growing issues of social and ethical implications and concerns. Edited by the internationally acclaimed founders of the philosophy and social movement of transhumanism, The Transhumanist Reader is an indispensable guide to our current state of knowledge of the quest to expand the frontiers of human nature.
Contributor Biographies ix Part I Roots and Core Themes 1 1 The Philosophy of Transhumanism 3 2 Aesthetics: Bringing the Arts & Design into the Discussion of Transhumanism 18 3 Why I Want to be a Posthuman When I Grow Up 28 4 Transhumanist Declaration (2012) 54 5 Morphological Freedom – Why We Not Just Want It, but Need It 56 Part II Human Enhancement: The Somatic Sphere 65 6 Welcome to the Future of Medicine 67 7 Life Expansion Media 73 8 The Hybronaut Affair: A Ménage of Art, Technology, and Science 83 9 Transavatars 91 10 Alternative Biologies 100 Part III Human Enhancement: The Cognitive Sphere 111 11 Re-Inventing Ourselves: The Plasticity of Embodiment, Sensing, and Mind 113 12 Artificial General Intelligence and the Future of Humanity 128 13 Intelligent Information Filters and Enhanced Reality 138 14 Uploading to Substrate-Independent Minds 146 15 Uploading 157 Part IV Core Technologies 165 16 Why Freud Was the First Good AI Theorist 167 17 Pigs in Cyberspace 177 18 Nanocomputers 182 19 Immortalist Fictions and Strategies 196 20 Dialogue between Ray Kurzweil and Eric Drexler 205 Part V Engines of Life: Identity and Beyond Death 213 21 The Curate’s Egg of Anti-Anti-Aging Bioethics 215 22 Medical Time Travel 220 23 Transhumanism and Personal Identity 227 24 Transcendent Engineering 234 Part VI Enhanced Decision-Making 241 25 Idea Futures: Encouraging an Honest Consensus 243 26 The Proactionary Principle: Optimizing Technological Outcomes 258 27 The Open Society and Its Media 268 Part VII Biopolitics and Policy 279 28 Performance Enhancement and Legal Theory: An Interview with 29 Justifying Human Enhancement: The Accumulation of Biocultural Capital 291 30 The Battle for the Future 302 31 Mind is Deeper Than Matter: Transgenderism, Transhumanism, and the Freedom of Form 317 32 For Enhancing People 327 33 Is Enhancement Worthy of Being a Right? 345 34 Freedom by Design: Transhumanist Values and Cognitive Liberty 355 Part VIII Future Trajectories: Singularity 361 35 Technological Singularity 365 36 An Overview of Models of Technological Singularity 376 37 A Critical Discussion of Vinge’s Singularity Concept 395 Part IX The World’s Most Dangerous Idea 419 38 The Great Transition: Ideas and Anxieties 421 39 Trans and Post 430 40 Back to Nature II: Art and Technology in the Twenty-First Century 438 41 A Letter to Mother Nature 449 42 Progress and Relinquishment 451 Index 454
Max More
Natasha Vita-More
Nick Bostrom
Various
Anders Sandberg
Robert A. Freitas Jr.
Natasha Vita-More
Laura Beloff
William Sims Bainbridge
Rachel Armstrong
Andy Clark
Ben Goertzel
Alexander “Sasha” Chislenko
Randal A. Koene
Ralph C. Merkle
Marvin Minsky
Hans Moravec
J. Storrs Hall
Michael R. Rose
Aubrey de Grey
Brian Wowk
James Hughes
Giulio Prisco
Robin Hanson
Max More
Mark S. Miller, with E. Dean Tribble, Ravi Pandya, and Marc Stiegler
Professor Michael H. Shapiro 281
Andy Miah
Gregory Stock
Martine Rothblatt
Ronald Bailey
Patrick D. Hopkins
Wrye Sententia
Vernor Vinge
Anders Sandberg
David Brin, Damien Broderick, Nick Bostrom, Alexander “Sasha” Chislenko, Robin Hanson, Max More, Michael Nielsen, and Anders Sandberg
Russell Blackford
Damien Broderick
Roy Ascott
Max More
Ray Kurzweil
Subject Areas: Philosophy [HP]
