Democratic transhumanism
From Includipedia, the inclusionist encyclopedia
Democratic transhumanism, a term coined by Dr. James Hughes in 2002, refers to the stance of transhumanists (advocates of the use of human enhancement technologies) who espouse liberal, social and/or radical democratic political views.[1][2][3][4]
According to Hughes, the ideology "stems from the assertion that human beings will generally be happier when they take rational control of the natural and social forces that control their lives."[2]The ethical foundation of democratic transhumanism rests upon rule utilitarianism and non-anthropocentric personhood theory.[5]
While raising objections both to right-wing and left-wing bioconservatism, and libertarian transhumanism, Hughes aims to encourage democratic transhumanists and their potential progressive allies to unite as a new social movement and influence biopolitical public policy.[2][4]
An attempt to expand the middle ground between technorealism and techno-utopianism, democratic transhumanism can be seen as a radical form of techno-progressivism.[6]
The term "radical", which appears several times in Hughes' work, (from Latin rādīx, rādīc-, root) is used as an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the root or going to the root. His central thesis is that emerging technologies and radical democracy can help citizens overcome some of the root causes of inequalities of power.[2]
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[edit] Currents
Hughes has identified 16 currents within democratic transhumanism:[1] Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2
- Afrofuturism
- Assistive technology-enabled disabled people
- Biopunk science fiction and movement
- Body modification culture
- Cyborg feminism/cyberfeminism
- Democratic globalization movement
- Feminist science fiction
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender science fiction
- Nanosocialism
- Free software movement
- Post-Darwinian leftism
- Postcyberpunk science fiction
- Post-work/guaranteed minimum income movement
- Technogaianism
- Up-wing politics
- Viridian design movement
[edit] List of democratic transhumanists
This section contains an alphabetically-ordered list of notable individuals who have identified themselves or been identified by Hughes as advocates of democratic transhumanism:[7] Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2
- Mark Alan Walker
- Martine Rothblatt
- Pablo Stafforini
- Philip Shropshire
- Ramez Naam
- Riccardo Campa
- Robin Green
[edit] References
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- ↑ a b Hughes, James (2004). Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future. Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-4198-1.
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