Memo17+--+Short+and+Long+Annotations

Thomas Solley STSH 4980-01 Senior Thesis Costelloe-Kuehn 9/27/2014

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__ Memo 17 -- Long and Short __ Annotations "Short annotations; 18 Long annotations; 6"

"A Christian Perspective on Human Enhancement" The author certainly includes some useful perspectives on technology and ethics -- considerations I would not have otherwise seen. A useful counter-point, or "

Useful quote; "At a very general level, Christian commentators often stress a precautionary stance, with its cautious emphasis and bias towards a negative assessment of unknown technologies. However, this fails to grapple with the issues theologically and is unable to critique the nuances of the debate." --> This explains very succintly why I have been squemish about including religious feedback and views into my Thesis/literature review -- feeling that, without an appropriate base in scientific fact, criticizing or supporting religious opinions on the subject of human augmentation seems unfair to both sides. --> This "McKenny" described herein seems like a useful perspective -- the "three levels on which to focus such assessments: the specific procedures; changes to social practices and cultural understandings; the way in which the world is viewed." \\\\\\\\\\\\For my part I've been focusing on the last two for my Research, though on an article-basis it seems I focus on the first rather than the second...

"Humanity+: About"  A good summary of views for Transhumanism. I think I shall incorporate this into my Thesis, particuarly the highlighted quote.
 * I am glad to see the point about "ethics" here seems to respond well to Jones' Christian article
 * Fully agree with the Human Capabilities section. Very well-put. Might use this for my Thesis (direct quote) "The human is a biological animal, which evolved approximately 200,000 years ago as the subspecies Homo sapiens sapiens (modern humans). The Western world’s consensus on what is “normal” for a human biology, life span, intelligence and psychology established certain precedents. Outside these precedents would mean that a human is subnormal or beyond normal. A person who is afflicted with a physical affliction, a mental condition, or degenerative disease would be considered to be outside the normal range. Likewise, a person who has increased physiological performance or cognitive abilities, or lives beyond the human maximum lifespan of 122-123 years, would be considered outside the normal range. This determination of “normal” has not kept up with the advances in technology or science. "
 * "biological determinism," that's something to look-into...
 * Indeterminate claim, "There is nothing intrinsically wrong with aiming to be better than well. " That is certainly a focusing-point though for bioconservatives (from what I have seen so far).

"Humanity+: Transhumanist Declaration"  Not bad. I will certainly be citing this in my paper as a primary source, and for background-info on the Transhumanist movement.
 * Originally crafted in 1998
 * Glad to see point 3 acknowledging that misuse of technology is to be avoided if at all possible. This is expandede-upon in point 4, "
 * 1) Research effort needs to be invested into understanding these prospects. We need to carefully deliberate how best to reduce risks and expedite beneficial applications. We also need forums where people can constructively discuss what should be done, and a social order where responsible decisions can be implemented."
 * Rather interesting to see the style of this website -- so somber, dark, lots of greys. Very serious. Slight metallic finish to navigation-pane at top of page. Otherwise no real color. Certainly seems to be aiming for the Modernism / Deutsche Werkbund / Moderne / International Style... That "Wall Street skyscraper/office" look. Professional, sure, but a little off-putting.
 * Glad to see point 6 discussing considerations of "legacy."

"Video Games and the Transhuman Incliniation", This is a real great find, a lodestone of information. The author practically makes one of the points I sought to make in my First Proposal of the rise of transhumanism in popular media. This will make a great source for my Background and Significance. --> This article will play heavily into my Aim / Topic regarding dependance/use of technology in everyday life (that we as a world are closer to a Transhumanist future than media might claim) \\\\\\\\\\\\\\Does this mean I will be trying to... prove Stephensen's quote regarding the distribution of technology?
 * Turner 2006,
 * "sacred space" Wertheim 1999,
 * "Almost every virtual world is, by definition, an opportunity to transcend our biological limits"
 * Slight criticism within the genre, "some transhumanists hope to rework reality in accordance with a vision -- played out in video games -- of a fantastic realm of the imagination."
 * "By their nature, every game permits transhuman possibilities, and there are games whose narratives and play revolve around specifically transhumanist themes."
 * Look into "the Extropy Institute"? We already read an article on Extropy (in brief), the Chapter12 article.
 * Should really look into Kurzweil, he seems a strong influence behind Transhumanism...
 * I should look into Leon Kass as a counter-figure (bioethicist).
 * Great H+ quote on page 10...
 * Page 11 has an AMAZING quote that sums-up my own views of limb-replacement almost smack-on.
 * Lots of references being pulled-in here -- see the annotated document for more, in the comments section.
 * "I think that video games and virtual worlds represent an early form of cyber-transhumanism" (p.14, Gwydion 2012).
 * Possibility of using online communities (in video games) to advance the transhumanist agenda...

"Transhumanism",  --> Just useful to keep this study in mind...
 * I see this providing the framework for the Structuring memo, quite easily, if not most of the content.
 * Definitions of Transhumanism I already have, thanks to the Declaration.
 * Did Nietzsche spark the transhumanist thought? His "Ubermensch" idea was founded on "self actualization" rather than technological augmentation...
 * Max More, Stefan Sorgner -- heavily influenced by Nietzsche...
 * Splits the history into "early thinkings" of the 1920s and 1950s, "the singularity," 1980s-2002
 * FM-2030, a RIST entity?
 * Use the historical entries 1980-2002 as Framework for Memo 19, Structuring.
 * Quite a fe good pieces on Cons/Criticisms! In the [Theory] section...
 * "Abolitionism" and "Technogaianism" in transhumanist thought seem intriguing to me...
 * " Following this dialogue, [|William Sims Bainbridge], a [|sociologist of religion] , conducted a pilot study, published in the [|Journal of Evolution and Technology] , suggesting that religious attitudes were negatively correlated with acceptance of transhumanist ideas, and indicating that individuals with highly religious worldviews tended to perceive transhumanism as being a direct, competitive (though ultimately futile) affront to their spiritual beliefs. [|[73]] "
 * Holy crap the [Debate] section is long... I'm going to get a LOT of original material from this!
 * "practical" and "ethical" criticisms...
 * "Dehumanization" section looks VERY promising!!!! //__**REMEMBER THIS IT WILL BE**__ **IMPORTANT**//

//__**BOSTROM'S HISTORY PAPER NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED HERE BUT I HAVE NOT READ IT**__ **YET**// SUPER IMPORTANT. --> Useful piece here, though does not explain HWY these were created. I beleiev from the earlier sections of the paper that they were founded on the thoughts emerging from Asimov, Clarke, and other writers of the time. See page 7 -- though times of these authors is not eplicitly stated there. Unknown then if accurate chronology. --> Important for Bias.
 * Postwar thought shaped by the eugenics programs (and revulsion of those) following WW2. Technology became the poster-child for a brighter future, rather than genetics.
 * "In the 1970s and 1980s, many organizations sprang up that focused on a particular topic such as life extension, cryonics, space colonization, science fiction, and futurism. These groups were often isolated from one another, and whatever shared views and values they had did not yet amount to any unified worldview."[14]
 * Page 14, Very important. The Extropy Institute served as the "distribution" in the early days of the "second" transhumanist wave in the 1990s?
 * "Max More wrote the first definition of transhumanism in its modern sense, and created his own distinctive brand of transhumanism, “extropianism,” which emphasized the principles of “boundless expansion,” “self‐transformation,” “dynamic optimism,” “intelligent technology,” and “spontaneous order”"[p.15]
 * Corroborated, origina and purpose of the WTA.
 * "David Pearce has also developed his own distinctive flavor of transhumanism based on an ethic of hedonistic utilitarianism." [p.16]
 * Point at end of page 16; why did more specified groups emerge, did something happen to necessitate their existence? Still unknown..
 * See page 17; this now starts to get into movements at the time. Rise of bioethics following medeival ethics following Nazi horros.
 * So it seems following the creation of the bioethics region, thaT further admonishment and restriction -- eg social conerns -- about transhumanism came from the back-and-forth between ideas launched by literature (Asimov, Clarke, etc.), which were then discussed en-masse by Extropian forums, which were then picked-apart by ethicists. Which were then taken-up by pro-transhumanists and incorporated or addressed in future relevations. [p. 18]
 * Made it to page 22... Pages 18 -- 22 ... These seem specific examples of important writings by authors whose words sparked further discussion and important ethics considerations. //__**skipped**__ **these**//
 * Pages 22+ are in regards to 21st-century transhumanism, and in particular the critics and bio-conservatives of this day and age. I wish I had mroe time to go into this one, but it will prove invaluable.

UPDATE Interesting but not entirely useful. Since now switching focus, need more articles on the "modern" movement, technological dependence, etc.

Also uncertain if the notes I made in Zotero for the Backlog really "count" here, as they are not.. explicitly... all related to my Topic. Plus they are in Zotero and not here. So while I did lots of annotations for the project, I don't really have anything for the "new" topic/scope.

__ Concerns __ I'll be honest here, I';m worried about not getting enough information for this one. WHile I can work this assignment into the "organize zotero" that I had due LAST week, I'm styill behind. I can get some Zotero articles for this one, but I still feel like I'm falling, and that worries me.

Also, what is the format for this? (sent email to the prof).

... For now I really need to structure the Zotero articles I already have. Once I can group them into Folders, make Notes, and Tag them, it should give me a better understanding (from reading the Abstracts at least). I should also work on the Backlog I have too -- some of those might actually be useful. Except... by trying to incorporate and ADD "new" quotes and sources to my paper, are I not trying to create a Report from scratch in just a day? The scale of such a task is daunting....

--> So the actual "annotations" were made in Zotero...

As per the UPDATE, my content now needs a serious re-evaluation.