TransVision 2010 Presentation by Max More
The Expanded Self: The Past, Present, and Future of Being You
Transhumanists seek to survive and thrive into the indefinite future, and to enhance and expand themselves. But what is this “self” that we aim to preserve and develop? Does it exist? Or is it largely an illusion? I will argue that selfhood is much less real and substantial than commonly believed (even among sophisticated transhumanists). The human self is a kludge, a clumsy, accidental conglomeration of cognitive, emotional, and perceptual functions that is poorly and loosely integrated. The 15 billion year history of the universe is one of expanding awareness and self-awareness. We can, perhaps, catch glimpses of our posthuman selves as unprecedented beings of improved integration and integrity, greater virtue, and deeper meta-awareness, enabled by increasingly subtle and deep infusions of technology into our neural and biological substrate.
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Max More, the founder of Extropy Institute, has written many articles espousing the philosophy of transhumanism and the transhumanist philosophy of extropy, most importantly his Principles of Extropy (currently version 3.11). In a 1990 essay “Transhumanism: Toward a Futurist Philosophy”, he introduced the term “transhumanism” in its modern sense. More is also noted for his writings about the impact of new and emerging technologies on businesses and other organizations. His “Proactionary Principle” is intended as a balanced guide to the risks and benefits of technological innovation. |
TransVision 2010 is a global transhumanist conference and community convention. The event will take place on October 22, 23 and 24, 2010 in Milan, Italy with many options for remote online access.
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