Terms Every "Intellectual" Should Know

George Dvorsky, the radical transhumanist—well, now there’s a redundant phrase—has come up with a long list of terms of which “intellectuals” should be aware. These include:

”Cosmological Eschatology (aka physical eschatology): CE is the study of how the Universe develops, ages, and ultimately comes to an end. While hardly a new concept, what is new is the suggestion that advanced intelligence may play a role in the universe’s life cycle. Given the radical potential for postbiological superintelligence, a number of thinkers have suggested that universe engineering is a likely activity for advanced civilizations. This has given rise to a number of theories, including the developmental singularity hypothesis and the selfish biocosm hypothesis.” Like I have often said, transhumanism is religion.

”Extended Identity: Human activity is increasingly migrating to the digital realm. The rise in popularity of MMORPGs such as Second Life and World of Warcraft show that the self can, to a non-trivial degree, be transfered to an alternative medium. With the maturation of these technologies will come distributed personhood and new legal protections to guarantee safe and ubiquitous online activity.” Or, to put it another way: “My Mother the Computer.”

“Information Theoretic Death: New technologies will soon demand that we redefine what we mean by death. It is becoming increasingly unsatisfactory to declare death when the heart stops. As long as the information within the brain can be preserved and restored, a person should not be considered irrevocably dead. Given the potential for molecular nanotechnology and other future biotechnological advances, it is reasonable to suggest that most cognitive impairment will someday be repairable. Consequently, we will need to reconsider the status of persons frozen in cyronic stasis or hooked up to life support systems.” Then, Dvorsky should oppose dehydrating those with profound cognitive disabilities, since he believes cures will be coming. But somehow, I’ll bet he wasn’t on the Schindlers’ side in the Terri Schiavo fight.

”Memetic Engineering: This is the radical and controversial idea that the propagation and quality of information should be monitored and managed. Memetic engineering is a term coined by Richard Dawkins, and has been elaborated upon by such thinkers as James Gardner, Robert Wright, Daniel Dennett (who calls for increased cultural health) and William Sims Bainbridge (to enhance group and societal outcomes). For example, advocates of ME would argue that some religious memes are viral and and need to curbed. I have also argued along these lines. On a related note, a burgeoning movement is afoot to help people overcome their biases.” Get those re-education camps ready! So much for the myth that transhumanists and radical secularists really believe in freedom and liberty of conscience.

Well, now we know how Dvorsky spends his nights. Check it out. It’s pretty interesting. Far out, man.