Transhumanism As A New Social Movement

Author : James Michael MacFarlane
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 245 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2020-05-19
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783030400903

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Transhumanism as a New Social Movement by James Michael MacFarlane Pdf

This book explores Technological Human Enhancement Advocacy through ethnographically inspired participant observation across a range of sites. James Michael MacFarlane argues that such advocacy is characterized by ‘Techno-centrism,' a belief grounded in today’s world while being also future-oriented and drawn from the imagination. This blurring of ‘real’ and ‘imagined’ futures borrows from the materialist grounding of the scientific worldview, while granting extended license to visions for technology as an enabler of forward-facing action, which include reviving humanist ideals associated with the modernization project. While Techno-centrism is arguably most pronounced in transhumanism—where it is acted-out in extreme, almost hyperbolic ways—it reflects more generally held, deep-seeded concerns around the future of science, technology and human self-identity in the new millennium. Far from being new, these emerging social forms capture unresolved ambivalences which have long cast a shadow over late-modern society and culture.

Author : Stefan Lorenz Sorgner
Publisher : Policy Press
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2023-04
Category : Artificial intelligence
ISBN : 9781529219210

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We Have Always Been Cyborgs by Stefan Lorenz Sorgner Pdf

This visionary new book explores the critical issues that link transhumanism with digitalisation, gene technologies and ethics.

Author : Sisman-Ugur, Serap,Kurubacak, Gulsun
Publisher : IGI Global
Page : 448 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2019-05-03
Category : Education
ISBN : 9781522584322

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Handbook of Research on Learning in the Age of Transhumanism by Sisman-Ugur, Serap,Kurubacak, Gulsun Pdf

As a movement, transhumanism aims to upgrade the human body through science, constantly pushing back the limits of a person by using cutting-edge technologies to fix the human body and upgrade it beyond its natural abilities. Transhumanism can not only change human habits, but it can also change learning practices. By improving human learning, it improves the human organism beyond natural and biological limits. The Handbook of Research on Learning in the Age of Transhumanism is an essential research publication that discusses global values, norms, and ethics that relate to the diverse needs of learners in the digital world and addresses future priorities and needs for transhumanism. The book will identify and scrutinize the needs of learners in the age of transhumanism and examine best practices for transhumanist leaders in learning. Featuring topics such as cybernetics, pedagogy, and sociology, this book is ideal for educators, trainers, instructional designers, curriculum developers, professionals, researchers, academicians, policymakers, and librarians.

Author : Jennifer Huberman
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 305 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2020-12-17
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781108835930

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Transhumanism by Jennifer Huberman Pdf

Through a detailed exploration of the study of transhumanism, this book introduces students to the discipline of cultural anthropology.

Author : Jacob Shatzer
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
Page : 198 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2019-04-09
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9780830865789

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Transhumanism and the Image of God by Jacob Shatzer Pdf

We're constantly invited to think about the future of technology as a progressive improvement of tools: our gadgets will continue to evolve, but we humans will stay basically the same. In the future, perhaps even alien species and intelligent robots will coexist alongside humans, who will grapple with challenges and emerge as the heroes. But the truth is that radical technological change has the power to radically shape humans as well. We must be well informed and thoughtful about the steps we're already taking toward a transhuman or even posthuman future. Can we find firm footing on a slippery slope? Biblical ethicist Jacob Shatzer guides us into careful consideration of the future of Christian discipleship in a disruptive technological environment. In Transhumanism and the Image of God, Shatzer explains the development and influence of the transhumanist movement, which promotes a "next stage" in human evolution. Exploring topics such as artificial intelligence, robotics, medical technology, and communications tools, he examines how everyday technological changes have already altered and continue to change the way we think, relate, and understand reality. By unpacking the doctrine of the incarnation and its implications for human identity, he helps us better understand the proper place of technology in the life of the disciple and avoid false promises of a posthumanist vision. We cannot think about technology use today without considering who we will become tomorrow.

Author : Mark O'Connell
Publisher : Anchor
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2018-01-16
Category : Computers
ISBN : 9781101911594

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To Be a Machine by Mark O'Connell Pdf

“This gonzo-journalistic exploration of the Silicon Valley techno-utopians’ pursuit of escaping mortality is a breezy romp full of colorful characters.” —New York Times Book Review (editor's choice) Transhumanism is a movement pushing the limits of our biology—of our senses, intelligence, and lifespans—with technology. Its supporters have reached a critical mass and now include some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley and beyond, among them Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and Ray Kurzweil. In this provocative and eye-opening account, journalist Mark O’Connell explores the staggering (and terrifying) possibilities that present themselves when you think of your body as an outmoded device. He visits the world’s foremost cryonics facility to witness how some have chosen to forestall death, discovers an underground collective of biohackers boosting their senses by implanting electronics under their skin, and meets with members of a team urgently investigating how to protect mankind from rogue artificial superintelligence. In investigating what it means to be a machine, O’Connell shines a light on our ancient desire to transcend the animal condition—and offers a surprising meditation on what it means to be human.

Author : Andrew Pilsch
Publisher : U of Minnesota Press
Page : 378 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2017-08-15
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781452954882

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Transhumanism by Andrew Pilsch Pdf

Transhumanism posits that humanity is on the verge of rapid evolutionary change as a result of emerging technologies and increased global consciousness. However, this insight is dismissed as a naive and controversial reframing of posthumanist thought, having also been vilified as “the most dangerous idea in the world” by Francis Fukuyama. In this book, Andrew Pilsch counters these critiques, arguing instead that transhumanism’s utopian rhetoric actively imagines radical new futures for the species and its habitat. Pilsch situates contemporary transhumanism within the longer history of a rhetorical mode he calls “evolutionary futurism” that unifies diverse texts, philosophies, and theories of science and technology that anticipate a radical explosion in humanity’s cognitive, physical, and cultural potentialities. By conceptualizing transhumanism as a rhetoric, as opposed to an obscure group of fringe figures, he explores the intersection of three major paradigms shaping contemporary Western intellectual life: cybernetics, evolutionary biology, and spiritualism. In analyzing this collision, his work traces the belief in a digital, evolutionary, and collective future through a broad range of texts written by theologians and mystics, biologists and computer scientists, political philosophers and economic thinkers, conceptual artists and Golden Age science fiction writers. Unearthing the long history of evolutionary futurism, Pilsch concludes, allows us to more clearly see the novel contributions that transhumanism offers for escaping our current geopolitical bind by inspiring radical utopian thought.

Author : Calvin Mercer,Tracy J. Trothen
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 266 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2021-02-22
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9783030623593

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Religion and the Technological Future by Calvin Mercer,Tracy J. Trothen Pdf

We live in an age of rapid technological advancement. Never before has humankind wielded so much power over our own biology. Biohacking, the attempt at human enhancement of physical, cognitive, affective, moral, and spiritual traits, has become a global phenomenon. This textbook introduces religious and ethical implications of biohacking, artificial intelligence, and other technological changes, offering perspectives from monotheistic and karmic religions and applied ethics. These technological breakthroughs are transforming our societies and ourselves fundamentally via genetic modification, tissue engineering, artificial intelligence, robotics, the merging of computer technology with human biology, extended reality, brain stimulation, and nanotechnology. The book also considers the extreme possibilities of mind uploading, cryonics, and superintelligence. Chapters explore some of the political, economic, sociological, and psychological dimensions of these advances, with bibliographies for further study and questions for discussion. The technological future is here – and it is up to us to decide its moral and religious shape.

Author : Stefan Lorenz Sorgner
Publisher : Penn State Press
Page : 89 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2020-12-08
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780271088419

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On Transhumanism by Stefan Lorenz Sorgner Pdf

Transhumanism is widely misunderstood, in part because the media have exaggerated current technologies and branded the movement as dangerous, leading many to believe that hybrid humans may soon walk among us and that immortality, achieved by means of mind-uploading, is imminent. In this essential and clarifying volume, Stefan Lorenz Sorgner debunks widespread myths about transhumanism and tackles the most pressing ethical issues in the debate over technologically assisted human enhancement. On Transhumanism is a vital primer on the subject, written by a world-renowned expert. In this book, Sorgner presents an overview of the movement’s history, capably summarizing the twelve pillars of transhumanist discourse and explaining the great diversity of transhumanist responses to each individual topic. He highlights the urgent ethical challenges related to the latest technological developments, inventions, and innovations and compares the unique cultural standing of transhumanism to other cultural movements, placing it within the broader context of the Enlightenment, modernity, postmodernity, and the philosophical writings of Nietzsche. Engagingly written and translated and featuring an introduction for North American readers, this comprehensive overview of the cultural and philosophical movement of transhumanism will be required reading for students of posthumanist philosophy and for general audiences interested in learning about the transhumanist movement.

Author : David L. Andrews,Ben Carrington
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 634 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2013-06-21
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781118325285

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A Companion to Sport by David L. Andrews,Ben Carrington Pdf

A Companion to Sport brings together writing by leading sports theorists and social and cultural thinkers, to explore sport as a central element of contemporary culture. Positions sport as a crucial subject for critical analysis, as one of the most significant forms of popular culture Includes both well-known social and cultural theorists whose work lends itself to an interrogation of sport, and leading theorists of sport itself Offers a comprehensive examination of sport as a social and cultural practice and institution Explores sport in relation to modernity, postcolonial theory, gender, violence, race, disability and politics

Author : Zoltan Istvan
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 297 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2013
Category : Science fiction
ISBN : 0988616114

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The Transhumanist Wager by Zoltan Istvan Pdf

Philosopher, entrepreneur, and former National Geographic and New York Times correspondent Zoltan Istvan presents his visionary novel, The Transhumanist Wager, as a seminal statement of our times. Scorned by over 500 publishers and literary agents around the world, his philosophical thriller has been called "revolutionary" and "socially dangerous" by readers, scholars, and religious authorities. The novel debuts a challenging original philosophy, which rebuffs modern civilization by inviting the end of the human species-and declaring the onset of something greater. Set in the present day, the novel tells the story of transhumanist Jethro Knights and his unwavering quest for immortality via science and technology. Fighting against him are fanatical religious groups, economically depressed governments, and mystic Zoe Bach: a dazzling trauma surgeon and the love of his life, whose belief in spirituality and the afterlife is absolute. Exiled from America and reeling from personal tragedy, Knights forges a new nation of willing scientists on the world's largest seasteading project, Transhumania. When the world declares war against the floating city, demanding an end to its renegade and godless transhuman experiments and ambitions, Knights strikes back, leaving the planet forever changed.

Author : Max More,Natasha Vita-More
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 480 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2013-03-05
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9781118555996

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The Transhumanist Reader by Max More,Natasha Vita-More Pdf

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.

Author : Nwakanwa Kingdom
Publisher : Partridge Africa
Page : 104 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2015-06-05
Category : Reference
ISBN : 9781482807707

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Ebola Virus Facts and Fictions by Nwakanwa Kingdom Pdf

As of March 2015, Ebola tragedy has claimed an estimated 8,000 lives with case count above 20,000, according to data released by the World Health Organization. This is considered to be the worst outbreak in history ever since the Ebola virus was discovered in 1976. This book, Ebola Virus Facts and Fictions details the events of 2014 West African outbreak. The affected nations, the number of deaths and confirmed cases, the effect on the economy and public relation and the global government effort to contain the outbreak. This book furthermore takes the reader to the historical origin of Ebola virusthe mode of transmission, signs and symptoms, and prevention. Another interesting part of this book debunks the mythologies and misconceptions associated with the outbreak, the panic, and social unrest. Other chapters of this book talk about rapid advancement in modern science and technology, the outcome of uncontrollable human intelligence, and the impact of robotic revolution on the labour marketplace. The book also highlights the negative effects of rapid population growth and preferred population control measures adopted by the members of the ruling elites. This book shall constantly remind us of the Ebola tragedy during post-Ebola era in order to maintain adequate precaution against possible outbreak of any viral infection in the future. Words used in this book have been designed for the purpose of learning and entertainment, and it is suitable for all ages. Information represented with figures has been updated until the date of publication of this book.

Author : Gregory R. Hansell
Publisher : Xlibris Corporation
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2011-01-25
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781456815677

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H+/- by Gregory R. Hansell Pdf

Author : Bert Gordijn,Ruth Chadwick
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 237 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2008-10-20
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9781402088520

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Medical Enhancement and Posthumanity by Bert Gordijn,Ruth Chadwick Pdf

As we are increasingly using new technologies to change ourselves beyond therapy and in accordance with our own desires, understanding the challenges of human enhancement has become one of the most urgent topics of the current age. This volume contributes to such an understanding by critically examining the pros and cons of our growing ability to shape human nature through technological advancements. The authors undertake careful analyses of decisive questions that will confront society as enhancement interventions using bio-, info-, neuro- and nanotechnologies become widespread in the years to come. They provide the reader with the conceptual tools necessary to address such questions fruitfully. What makes the book especially attractive is the combination of conceptual, historical and ethical approaches, rendering it highly original. In addition, the well-balanced structure allows both favourable and critical views to be voiced. Moreover, the work has a crystal clear structure. As a consequence, the book is accessible to a broad academic audience. The issues raised are of interest to a wide reflective public concerned about science and ethics, as well as to students, academics and professionals in areas such as philosophy, applied ethics, bioethics, medicine and health management.