The Transhumanist Reader: Classical and Contemporary Essays on the Science, Technology, and Philosophy of the Human Future

The rapid pace of emerging technologies is playing an increasingly important role in overcoming fundamental human limitations. The Transhumanist Reader presents the first authoritative and comprehensive survey of the origins and current state of transhumanist thinking regarding technology’s impact on the future of humanity. 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. A multidisciplinary approach to themes of transhumanism reveals the full breadth of the philosophical study of issues relating to human enhancement, human futures, and the distinct issues and arguments used for the advancement and transformation of the human condition. 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 Max More 2 Aesthetics: Bringing the Arts & Design into the Discussion of Transhumanism 18 Natasha Vita–More 3 Why I Want to be a Posthuman When I Grow Up 28 Nick Bostrom 4 Transhumanist Declaration (2012) 54 Various 5 Morphological Freedom – Why We Not Just Want It, but Need It 56 Anders Sandberg Part II Human Enhancement: The Somatic Sphere 65 6 Welcome to the Future of Medicine 67 Robert A. Freitas Jr. 7 Life Expansion Media 73 Natasha Vita–More 8 The Hybronaut Affair: A Ménage of Art, Technology, and Science 83 Laura Beloff 9 Transavatars 91 William Sims Bainbridge 10 Alternative Biologies 100 Rachel Armstrong Part III Human Enhancement: The Cognitive Sphere 111 11 Re–Inventing Ourselves: The Plasticity of Embodiment, Sensing, and Mind 113 Andy Clark 12 Artificial General Intelligence and the Future of Humanity 128 Ben Goertzel 13 Intelligent Information Filters and Enhanced Reality 138 Alexander “Sasha” Chislenko 14 Uploading to Substrate–Independent Minds 146 Randal A. Koene 15 Uploading 157 Ralph C. Merkle Part IV Core Technologies 165 16 Why Freud Was the First Good AI Theorist 167 Marvin Minsky 17 Pigs in Cyberspace 177 Hans Moravec 18 Nanocomputers 182 J. Storrs Hall 19 Immortalist Fictions and Strategies 196 Michael R. Rose 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 Aubrey de Grey 22 Medical Time Travel 220 Brian Wowk 23 Transhumanism and Personal Identity 227 James Hughes 24 Transcendent Engineering 234 Giulio Prisco Part VI Enhanced Decision–Making 241 25 Idea Futures: Encouraging an Honest Consensus 243 Robin Hanson 26 The Proactionary Principle: Optimizing Technological Outcomes 258 Max More 27 The Open Society and Its Media 268 Mark S. Miller, with E. Dean Tribble, Ravi Pandya, and Marc Stiegler Part VII Biopolitics and Policy 279 28 Performance Enhancement and Legal Theory: An Interview with Professor Michael H. Shapiro 281 29 Justifying Human Enhancement: The Accumulation of Biocultural Capital 291 Andy Miah 30 The Battle for the Future 302 Gregory Stock 31 Mind is Deeper Than Matter: Transgenderism, Transhumanism, and the Freedom of Form 317 Martine Rothblatt 32 For Enhancing People 327 Ronald Bailey 33 Is Enhancement Worthy of Being a Right? 345 Patrick D. Hopkins 34 Freedom by Design: Transhumanist Values and Cognitive Liberty 355 Wrye Sententia Part VIII Future Trajectories: Singularity 361 35 Technological Singularity 365 Vernor Vinge 36 An Overview of Models of Technological Singularity 376 Anders Sandberg 37 A Critical Discussion of Vinge’s Singularity Concept 395 David Brin, Damien Broderick, Nick Bostrom, Alexander “Sasha” Chislenko, Robin Hanson, Max More, Michael Nielsen, and Anders Sandberg Part IX The World’s Most Dangerous Idea 419 38 The Great Transition: Ideas and Anxieties 421 Russell Blackford 39 Trans and Post 430 Damien Broderick 40 Back to Nature II: Art and Technology in the Twenty–First Century 438 Roy Ascott 41 A Letter to Mother Nature 449 Max More 42 Progress and Relinquishment 451 Ray Kurzweil Index 454

Max More, PhD is President and CEO of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, the world’s leading cryonics organization. An internationally acclaimed strategic philosopher, Dr. More is recognized for his thinking on the philosophical and cultural implications of emerging technologies. Natasha Vita–More, PhD is a leading expert on human enhancement and emerging and speculative technologies and is a Professor at the University of Advancing Technology. Dr. Vita–More’s writings have appeared in Technoetic Arts: Journal of Speculative Research , Metaverse Creativity and The Global Spiral . She has appeared in numerous televised documentaries on media design, culture, and the future.

“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.”  ( LIS Trends , 8 March 2013)