Episode 91: Transhumanism (Plus More on Brin)

Summary: Continuing discussion of David Brin's novel Existence (without him) and adding Nick Bostrom's essay "Why I Want to Be a Posthuman When I Grow Up" (2006).<br> Are our present human capabilities sufficient for meeting the challenges our civilization will face? Should we devote our technology to artificially enhancing our abilities, or would that be a crime against nature, a God-play that would probably lead to disaster? Is thinking about this issue a juvenile waste of time?<br> Mark, Seth, Dylan, and Brian Casey are rejoined by Wes to reflect on <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/03/26/ep90-david-brin/" target="_blank">ep. 90's discussion with David Brin</a> and figure out how his project is related to transhumanism. While you'll get a more thorough introduction to transhumanism from <a href="http://rationallyspeakingpodcast.org/show/rs17-transhumanism.html" target="_blank">Rationally Speaking</a> or many other web sources, we did confront Bostrom's argument that extending our lives and enhancing our IQ and emotional range would be good, and human-all-too-human fun was had. <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/02/28/brin-text/" target="_blank">Read more about the topic and get the text</a>.<br> End song: "Waygo" from The MayTricks (1992). <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2010/07/26/partially-naked-self-examination-music-blog-week-30/" target="_blank">Read about</a> and <a href="http://www.marklint.com/MayTricksAlbum.html" target="_blank">get the whole album for free</a>.<br> Please support the podcast by <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/membership-options/" target="_blank">becoming a PEL Citizen</a> or <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/shopdonate/" target="_blank">making a donation</a>.<br>