Details

<p>Contributor Biographies ix</p> <p><b>Part I Roots and Core Themes 1</b></p> <p>1 The Philosophy of Transhumanism 3<br /> <i>Max More</i></p> <p>2 Aesthetics: Bringing the Arts & Design into the Discussion of Transhumanism 18<br /> <i>Natasha Vita-More</i></p> <p>3 Why I Want to be a Posthuman When I Grow Up 28<br /> <i>Nick Bostrom</i></p> <p>4 Transhumanist Declaration (2012) 54<br /> <i>Various</i></p> <p>5 Morphological Freedom – Why We Not Just Want It, but Need It 56<br /> <i>Anders Sandberg</i></p> <p><b>Part II Human Enhancement: The Somatic Sphere 65</b></p> <p>6 Welcome to the Future of Medicine 67<br /> <i>Robert A. Freitas Jr.</i></p> <p>7 Life Expansion Media 73<br /> <i>Natasha Vita-More</i></p> <p>8 The Hybronaut Affair: A Ménage of Art, Technology, and Science 83<br /> <i>Laura Beloff</i></p> <p>9 Transavatars 91<br /> <i>William Sims Bainbridge</i></p> <p>10 Alternative Biologies 100<br /> <i>Rachel Armstrong</i></p> <p><b>Part III Human Enhancement: The Cognitive Sphere 111</b></p> <p>11 Re-Inventing Ourselves: The Plasticity of Embodiment, Sensing, and Mind 113<br /> <i>Andy Clark</i></p> <p>12 Artificial General Intelligence and the Future of Humanity 128<br /> <i>Ben Goertzel</i></p> <p>13 Intelligent Information Filters and Enhanced Reality 138<br /> <i>Alexander “Sasha” Chislenko</i></p> <p>14 Uploading to Substrate-Independent Minds 146<br /> <i>Randal A. Koene</i></p> <p>15 Uploading 157<br /> <i>Ralph C. Merkle</i></p> <p><b>Part IV Core Technologies 165</b></p> <p>16 Why Freud Was the First Good AI Theorist 167<br /> <i>Marvin Minsky</i></p> <p>17 Pigs in Cyberspace 177<br /> <i>Hans Moravec</i></p> <p>18 Nanocomputers 182<br /> <i>J. Storrs Hall</i></p> <p>19 Immortalist Fictions and Strategies 196<br /> <i>Michael R. Rose</i></p> <p>20 Dialogue between Ray Kurzweil and Eric Drexler 205</p> <p><b>Part V Engines of Life: Identity and Beyond Death 213</b></p> <p>21 The Curate’s Egg of Anti-Anti-Aging Bioethics 215<br /> <i>Aubrey de Grey</i></p> <p>22 Medical Time Travel 220<br /> <i>Brian Wowk</i></p> <p>23 Transhumanism and Personal Identity 227<br /> <i>James Hughes</i></p> <p>24 Transcendent Engineering 234<br /> <i>Giulio Prisco</i></p> <p><b>Part VI Enhanced Decision-Making 241</b></p> <p>25 Idea Futures: Encouraging an Honest Consensus 243<br /> <i>Robin Hanson</i></p> <p>26 The Proactionary Principle: Optimizing Technological Outcomes 258<br /> <i>Max More</i></p> <p>27 The Open Society and Its Media 268<br /> <i>Mark S. Miller, with E. Dean Tribble, Ravi Pandya, and Marc Stiegler</i></p> <p><b>Part VII Biopolitics and Policy 279</b></p> <p>28 Performance Enhancement and Legal Theory: An Interview with<br /> Professor Michael H. Shapiro 281</p> <p>29 Justifying Human Enhancement: The Accumulation of Biocultural Capital 291<br /> <i>Andy Miah</i></p> <p>30 The Battle for the Future 302<br /> <i>Gregory Stock</i></p> <p>31 Mind is Deeper Than Matter: Transgenderism, Transhumanism, and the Freedom of Form 317<br /> <i>Martine Rothblatt</i></p> <p>32 For Enhancing People 327<br /> <i>Ronald Bailey</i></p> <p>33 Is Enhancement Worthy of Being a Right? 345<br /> <i>Patrick D. Hopkins</i></p> <p>34 Freedom by Design: Transhumanist Values and Cognitive Liberty 355<br /> <i>Wrye Sententia</i></p> <p><b>Part VIII Future Trajectories: Singularity 361</b></p> <p>35 Technological Singularity 365<br /> <i>Vernor Vinge</i></p> <p>36 An Overview of Models of Technological Singularity 376<br /> <i>Anders Sandberg</i></p> <p>37 A Critical Discussion of Vinge’s Singularity Concept 395<br /> <i>David Brin, Damien Broderick, Nick Bostrom, Alexander “Sasha” Chislenko, Robin Hanson, Max More, Michael Nielsen, and Anders Sandberg</i></p> <p><b>Part IX The World’s Most Dangerous Idea 419</b></p> <p>38 The Great Transition: Ideas and Anxieties 421<br /> <i>Russell Blackford</i></p> <p>39 Trans and Post 430<br /> <i>Damien Broderick</i></p> <p>40 Back to Nature II: Art and Technology in the Twenty-First Century 438<br /> <i>Roy Ascott</i></p> <p>41 A Letter to Mother Nature 449<br /> <i>Max More</i></p> <p>42 Progress and Relinquishment 451<br /> <i>Ray Kurzweil</i></p> <p>Index 454</p>

<p>“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.”  (<i>Metapsychology</i>, 19 November 2013)</p> <p>“Edited by the internationally acclaimed founders of the philosophy and social movement of transhumanism, <i>The Transhumanist Reader</i> is an indispensable guide to our current state of knowledge of the quest to expand the frontiers of human nature.”  (<i>LIS Trends</i>, 8 March 2013)<br /> <br /> Review appeared in <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2013/jul/10/human-evolution-next-stages">The Guardian</a> 1st July 2013</p>

<p><b>Max More, PhD</b> is President of Alcor Life Extension Foundation <p><b>Natasha Vita-More, PhD</b> is a Professor at the University of Advancing Technology

<p><b>"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."</b></br> —Kevin Kelly, Senior Maverick for Wired <p><b>"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."</b></br> —Julian Savulescu, Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford <p><b>"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."</b></br> —Edward Keller, Director, Center for Transformative Media, Parsons The New School for Design <p><b>"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."</b></br> —Sonia Arrison, Best-selling author of <i>100 Plus: How The Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything</i> <p>The rapid pace of emerging technologies is playing an increasingly important role in overcoming fundamental human limitations. The <i>Transhumanist Reader</i> 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 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 advancement and transformation of the human condition. Edited by the internationally acclaimed founders of the philosophy and social movement of transhumanism, <i>The Transhumanist Reader</i> is an indispensable guide to our current state of knowledge on the quest to expand the frontiers of human nature.

“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.”<br /> <br /> —Kevin Kelly, Senior Maverick for <i>Wired</i><br /> <br /> <br /> <p>“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.”<br /> <br /> —Julian Savulescu, Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford<br /> <br /> <br /> “<i>The Transhumanist Reader</i> 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.”<br /> <br /> —Edward Keller, Director, Center for Transformative Media, Parsons The New School for Design</p> <p> “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.”</p> <p>—Sonia Arrison, Best-selling author of <i>100 Plus: How The Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything</i></p>

US