Post on 19-Jan-2016
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005
Democratic Transhumanism and the Emerging Biopolitics
James J. Hughes Ph.D.Executive Director, World Transhumanist Association & Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies
Public Policy Studies, Trinity College, Hartford CT
James.Hughes@trincoll.edu
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005
Signs of Emerging Biopolitics
Schiavo, stem cells, reprotech, Pope’s focus on bioethics
Christian Right vs. libertarians
Progressives and Secularists divided
Why? Biopolitics is new, and cuts
across existing political ideologies
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20th Century PoliticsThe Political Terrain of the 20th Century
Progressives
Conservatives
Conservatives Progressives Cultural
Economic
Populists
Libertarians New Right
Social Democrats
Progressives
Conservatives
Conservatives Progressives Cultural Politics
Economic Politics
Populists
Libertarians New Right
Social Democrats
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21st Century PoliticsThe Political Space of the 21st Century
Economic Politics
Biopolitics
Progressive
Conservative
Progressive Conservative Cultural Politics
BioLuddism
Transhumanism
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Biopolitical Battlefronts
Who is a citizen with a right to life?: abortion, stem cells, great ape rights, brain death, chimeras
Control of Reproduction: contraception, abortion, fertility treatments, genetic testing, germline gene therapies, cloning
Fixing Disabilities to “Human Enhancement”: cochlear implants, prosthetics, eye and brain chips, gene therapies, cosmetic procedures
Extending Life: from treatments for aging-related diseases, to anti-aging drugs and therapies
Control of the Brain: Ritalin and Prozac, psychoactive drugs, brain chips
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Drivers: Emerging Technologies
Tech that will radically change human life:PsychopharmacologyGenetic engineeringNanotechnologyArtificial intelligenceCognitive scienceThe accelerating convergence of all these
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NSF: Nanowiring the Brain
“Neuro-vascular central nervous recording/stimulating system: Using nanotechnology probes,” Rodolfo R. Llinás, Kerry D. Walton, Masayuki Nakao, et al.
“The emergence and policy implications of converging new technologies integrated from the nanoscale ,” M. C. Roco
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BioConservatives/BioLuddites
Religious Right
CS Lewis The Abolition of Man
Deep Ecologists, Romantic Luddites
Aldous Huxley Brave New World
Jeremy Rifkin Algeny
Left-wing/Feminist Critics of Biotech Gena Corea The Mother Machine
Center for Genetics and Society
Pro-Disability Extremists Not Dead Yet
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2002: BioPolitical Landmark
Leon Kass appointed Chair of President’s Council on Bioethics
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future (2002)
Greg Stock’s Redesigning Humans (2002)
Christian Right’s Manifesto on Biotechnology and Human
Dignity (2002)
Vatican’s "Human Persons Created in the Image of God“ (2002)
Bill McKibben Enough (2003)
PCB’s Beyond Therapy (2003)
Leon Kass
Chair, President’s
Council on
Bioethics
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Christian Right Biocon Network
Millions of dollars being poured into “conservative bioethics”
Center for Bioethics and Culture (Jennifer Lahl, Nigel Cameron, Prison Ministries, etc.)
Trinity International University/Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity
Discovery Institute (Wesley J. Smith) Ethics & Public Policy Center’s BAD (E. Cohen, New
Atlantis) American Enterprise Institute (L. Kass, J.Q. Wilson) National Catholic Bioethics Center (John Haas) Hudson Institute (Michael Fumento)
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IBHF: Building Biocon Alliances
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Leftist Opponents of Biotech
Leftist, feminist and anti-racist opponents of “technoeugenics”
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Deep Ecologists and Luddites
Jeremy Rifkin’s FOET Andrew Kimbrell ETC Foundation on Deep Ecology Anti-GM food groups
Brent Blackwelder, President, Friends
of the Earth
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Pro-Disability Extremists
E.g. Not Dead Yet
Opposed to: Efforts to “cure” or “fix” disabilities
Christopher Reeve
Cochlear implants
Parent’s right to terminate disabled fetuses
The right of sick and disabled to refuse life-sustaining medical treatment
Human enhancement medicine
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What is Transhumanism?
An intellectual and cultural movement that affirms
the possibility and desirability of transcending the limitations of the human body through applied reason
especially by using technology to eliminate aging and enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities.
Trans-humanists are humanists who emphasize what we have the potential to become through reason.
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Proto-Transhumanists
JP Condorcet and William Godwin – foresaw conquering death as part of utopian programme
HG Wells and Olaf Stapledon– portrayed future evolution of humanity
JBS Haldane, 1923, "Daedalus: Science and the Future“ – in vitro fertilization, genetic engineering
JD Bernal, 1929, "The World, the Flesh and the Devil” – first projection of cybernetic implants
JD Bernal
Jean Condorcet
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“Transhumanism”
Julian Huxley, 1957, coined term "Transhumanism“ - "the human species can transcend itself."
“FM-2030” (FM Esfandiary) popularized term “transhuman” in the 1970s
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90s: Libertarian H+ & Extropians
Extropy Institute http://extropy.org Extropian Principles Extropian email lists
Max More
Reason writer
Ron Bailey
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Transhumanists BioConservativesPersonhood, cyborg citizenship
Human-Racism or mysanthropy/deep ecology
Humanism, reason, individual liberty, progress
Sacred taboos, “the natural”, yuck factor, romanticism
Risks are manageable Punishment for hubris inevitable; Tech should be banned
Central Biopolitical Disputes
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Beyond Human-racism…
Human-racism = Humanness as basis of rights-bearing
Humans have souls or crypto-spiritual “human dignity”
Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights (UN General Assembly, 1998) “The human genome underlies the fundamental unity of all
members of the human family, as well as the recognition of their inherent dignity and diversity.”
Annas/Andrews Treaty: human enhancement should be “a crime against humanity”
Embryonic citizens?
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…to Personhood
Is hairlessness one of the genes necessary for citizenship?
Persons: “conscious beings, aware of themselves, with intents and purposes over time”
You can be human and not persons: fetus, braindead
You can be a person and not human: great apes, AI, posthumans
Legal personhood confers “right to life” and to technological self-empowerment
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H+ = Radical Human Rights
Personhood, not race, gender or species, defines citizenship
Citizens have a right to control own bodies & brains
Goal of governance should be to help each person fulfill her potential
John Locke
1632-1704
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Technological Self-Determination
The right to use technology to control our own bodies and minds
The right to more life and ability Health care access
Cognitive liberty
Transgender rights
Right to body modification and cosmetic enhancement
Reproductive rights
Right of disabled to assistive tech
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Bioethicists Moving Towards H+
Religious Right (Schiavo) and Kassites are polarizing and scaring bioethicists
They are becoming more H+ as they are forced to defend autonomy & technology against religious thuggery and nonsensical yuck factor arguments
Arthur Caplan: “…enhancing intelligence or changing personality or modifying our memory, maybe that should be available to everyone as a guarantee of equal opportunity.”
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Growing H+ Movement
World Transhumanist Associationtranshumanism.org
30 chapters, 3000 members
Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies
ieet.org
Immortality Institute
Terasem Foundation
Betterhumans.com
Foresight Institute
Singularity Inst for AI
Dr. Nick Bostrom Oxford UniversityWTA & IEET Chair
Nasteho Abdi Jumale
Vice-Chair of WTA-Kenya
Gaurav Gupta
Chair, Indian Society for Transhumanity
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Constituencies for H+
Disabled seeking assistive tech and cures Feminists supporting full reproductive rights
including germinal choice Drug law reform advocates supporting
deregulated access to neurotechnologies Human rights activists supporting a
right to bodily autonomy Scientists & health workers alienated by
growing religious right restrictions LGBT community seeking reproductive options Tech-friendly ecologists supporting tech solutions to eco-threats Senior citizens looking for cures for aging-related diseases Developing countries hoping to use emerging technologies to
“leapfrog” to development Animal rights activists advocating a post-speciesist basis for rights
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Growing Diversity of H+
From the March 2005 survey of WTA members
Religion
Religious or spiritual
Secular, atheist
Other/DK
Atheist, Agnostic, Secular humanist 63%
Spiritual, Buddhist, Protestant, Religious
humanist, Catholic, Pagan, Unitarian-
Universalist, Hindu etc.
25%
Other 13%
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Democratic Transhumanism
Core Principles: We liberate ourselves from nature through technology, and from social oppression through democracy
Core values: liberty, but also equality and solidarity
Tech needs regulation and universal access Public policy needed to prevent and redress
downsides of tech innovation, e.g. BIG for structural employment
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Building H+ Coalitions
Ideological Positions in the 21st Century
Economic Politics
Biopolitics
Progressive
Conservative
C
A
Progressive Conservative
B
D
Cultural Politics A- Democratic transhumanism B- Libertarian transhumanism C- Left bioLuddism D- Right bioLuddism
BioLuddism
Transhumanism
H+ Coalition BioCon Coalition
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Tech is not the problem Greed, racism, inequality,
poverty, patriarchy,
authoritarianism, ignorance
and superstition are the
problems
Technology only opens new
battlefronts
The Crossbow was invented to oppress peasants. But it became the perfect tool for knocking knights off horses.
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Universal Access is a Problem
Expand universal access
Universal health insurance coverage, including beneficial enhancements
Research & tech transfer for needs of the developing world
clean water, telecom, vaccines, immune tweaks, nano, GM crops
Toronto Bioethics Centre’s reports on genetics and nano for the developing world
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For more information
World Transhumanist Associationtranshumanism.org
Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologiesieet.org
Betterhumans.com
Me: james.hughes@trincoll.edu