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Extropian Principles 3.0 - A Transhumanist
Declaration
by Max More President, Extropy
Institute
more@extropy.org |
| Op de website van het
Extropy institute vind je de extropian
principles 3.11. De hier gepubliceerde uitgave is dus enigszins verouderd.
Inmiddels wordt op de Extropy
Mailinglist gediscussieerd over versie 4 van de principles. |
Introduction
Extropy -- the extent of
a system's intelligence, information, order, vitality, and capacity for
improvement.
Extropians -- those who
seek to increase extropy.
Extropianism -- the evolving
transhumanist philosophy of extropy. |
| Extropianism is a transhumanist
philosophy. The Extropian Principles define a specific version or "brand"
of transhumanist thinking. Like humanists, transhumanists favor reason,
progress, and values centered on our well being rather than on an external
religious authority. Transhumanists take humanism further by challenging
human limits by means of science and technology combined with critical
and creative thinking. We challenge the inevitability of aging and death,
and we seek continuing enhancements to our intellectual abilities, our
physical capacities, and our emotional development. We see humanity as
a transitory stage in the evolutionary development of intelligence. We
advocate using science to accelerate our move from human to a transhuman
or posthuman condition. As physicist Freeman Dyson has said: "Humanity
looks to me like a magnificent beginning but not the final word." |
| These Principles are not
presented as absolute truths or universal values. The Principles codify
and express those attitudes and approaches affirmed by those who describe
themselves as "Extropian". Extropian thinking offers a basic framework
for thinking about the human condition. This document deliberately does
not specify particular beliefs, technologies, or conclusions. These Principles
merely define an evolving framework for approaching life in a rational,
effective manner unencumbered by dogmas that cannot survive scientific
or philosophical criticism. Like humanists we affirm an empowering, rational
view of life, yet seek to avoid dogmatic beliefs of any kind. The Extropian
philosophy embodies an inspiring and uplifting view of life while remaining
open to revision according to science, reason, and the boundless search
for improvement. |
1. Perpetual
Progress -- Seeking more intelligence, wisdom, and effectiveness, an
indefinite lifespan, and the removal of political, cultural, biological,
and psychological limits to self-actualization and self-realization. Perpetually
overcoming constraints on our progress and possibilities. Expanding into
the universe and advancing without end.
2. Self-Transformation
-- Affirming continual moral, intellectual, and physical self-improvement,
through critical and creative thinking, personal responsibility, and experimentation.
Seeking biological and neurological augmentation along with emotional and
psychological refinement.
3. Practical
Optimism -- Fueling action with positive expectations. Adopting a rational,
action-based optimism, in place of both blind faith and stagnant pessimism.
4. Intelligent
Technology -- Applying science and technology creatively to transcend
"natural" limits imposed by our biological heritage, culture, and environment.
Seeing technology not as an end in itself but as an effective means towards
the improvement of life.
5. Open
Society -- Supporting social orders that foster freedom of speech,
freedom of action, and experimentation. Opposing authoritarian social control
and favoring the rule of law and decentralization of power. Preferring
bargaining over battling, and exchange over compulsion. Openness to improvement
rather than a static utopia.
6. Self-Direction
-- Seeking independent thinking, individual freedom, personal responsibility,
self-direction, self-esteem, and respect for others.
7. Rational
Thinking -- Favoring reason over blind faith and questioning over dogma.
Remaining open to challenges to our beliefs and practices in pursuit of
perpetual improvement. Welcoming criticism of our existing beliefs while
being open to new ideas. |
Perpetual
Progress
Extropians seek continual
improvement in ourselves, our cultures, and our environments. We seek to
improve ourselves physically, intellectually, and psychologically. We value
the perpetual pursuit of knowledge and understanding. Extropians question
traditional assertions that we should leave human nature fundamentally
unchanged in order to conform to "God's will" or to what is considered
"natural". Like our intellectual cousins, the humanists, we seek continued
progress in all directions. We go beyond many humanists in proposed fundamental
alterations in human nature in pursuit of these improvements. We question
traditional, biological, genetic, and intellectual constraints on our progress
and possibility.
Extropians recognize the
unique conceptual abilities of our species, and our opportunity to advance
nature's evolution to new peaks. We see humans as a transitional stage
standing between our animal heritage and our posthuman future. On the early
Earth, mindless matter combined so as to form the first self-replicating
molecules and life began. Nature's evolutionary processes generated increasingly
complex organisms with ever-more intelligent brains. The direct chemical
responses of single-celled creatures led to the emergence of sensation
and perception, allowing more subtle and responsive behaviors. Finally,
with the development of the neocortex, conscious learning and experimentation
became possible.
With the advent of the conceptual
awareness of humankind, the rate of advancement sharply accelerated as
we applied intelligence, technology, and the scientific method to our condition.
We seek to sustain and quicken this evolutionary process, overcoming human
biological and psychological limits.
We do not accept the undesirable
aspects of the human condition. We challenge natural and traditional limitations
on our possibilities. We champion the use of science and technology to
eradicate constraints on lifespan, intelligence, personal vitality, and
freedom. We recognize the absurdity of meekly accepting "natural" limits
to our life spans. We expect life to move beyond the confines of the Earth
-- the cradle of human and transhuman intelligence -- to inhabit the cosmos.
Continual improvement will
involve economic growth. We see no shortage of resources to allow growth,
and we find growth compatible with environmental quality. Extropians affirm
a rational, non-coercive environmentalism aimed at sustaining and enhancing
the conditions for our flourishing. Intelligent management of resources
and environment will be fostered by vastly extended life spans. An effective
economic system encourages conservation, substitution, and innovation,
preventing any need for a brake on growth and progress. Migration into
space will immensely enlarge the energy and resources accessible to our
civilization. Extended life spans may foster wisdom and foresight, while
restraining recklessness and profligacy. We pursue continued individual
and social improvement carefully and intelligently.
We value perpetual learning
and exploration as individuals, and we encourage our cultures to experiment
and evolve. We are neither conservatives nor radicals: we conserve what
works, for as long as it works, and we alter that which can be improved.
In our search for continual improvement we steer carefully between complacence
and recklessness.
No mysteries are sacrosanct,
no limits unquestionable; the unknown will yield to the ingenious mind.
We seek to understand the universe, not to tremble before mystery, as we
continue to learn and grow and enjoy our lives ever more. |
Self-Transformation
Extropians focus on self-improvement
physically, intellectually, psychologically, and ethically. We seek to
become better than we are, while affirming our current worth. Perpetual
self-improvement requires us to continually re-examine our lives. Self-esteem
in the present cannot mean self-satisfaction, since a probing mind can
always envisage a better self in the future. Extropians are committed to
deepening their wisdom, honing their rationality, and augmenting their
physical, intellectual, and emotional qualities. We choose challenge over
comfort, innovation over emulation, transformation over torpor.
Extropians are neophiles
and experimentalists who track new research for more efficient means of
achieving goals and who are willing to explore novel technologies of self-transformation.
In our quest for continual advancement, we rely on our own judgment, seek
our own path, and reject both blind conformity and mindless rebellion.
Extropians frequently diverge from the mainstream because they refuse to
be chained by any dogma, whether religious, political, or intellectual.
Extropians choose their values and behavior reflectively, standing firm
when necessary but responding flexibly to new conditions.
As neophiles, Extropians
study advanced, emerging, and future technologies for their self-transformative
potential. We support biomedical research to understand and control the
aging process, and we implement effective means of extending vitality.
We practice and plan for biological and neurological augmentation through
means such as neurochemical enhancers, computers and electronic networks,
intelligent agents, critical and creative thinking skills, meditation and
visualization techniques, accelerated learning strategies, and applied
cognitive psychology. Shrugging off the limits imposed on us by our natural
heritage, we apply the evolutionary gift of our rational, empirical intelligence
as we strive to surpass the confines of our human limits.
Since every individual lives
with others, we aim to continually improve our personal relationships.
We recognize the intertwining of our interests with those of others and
so we seek to act for mutual benefit. Self-transformation implies not self-absorption
but a continued attempt to understand others and to work toward optimal
relationships based on mutual honesty, open communication, and benevolence.
We understand that evolution left us with animalistic urges and emotions
that sometimes prompt us thoughtlessly into acts of hostility, conflict,
fear, and domination. Through self-awareness and understanding of and respect
for others we attempt to rise above these urges.
Although we are aware of
the value of others, we focus primarily on self-transformation rather than
trying to change others. We recognize the dangers of controlling others
and so only try to improve the world through setting an example and by
communicating ideas. Some of us are intensely committed to the education
and improvement of others, but only through voluntary means that respect
the rationality, autonomy, and dignity of the individual. |
Practical
Optimism
Extropians espouse a positive,
dynamic, empowering attitude. We seek to realize our ideals in this world,
today and tomorrow. Rather than enduring an unfulfilling life sustained
by fantasies of another life (whether in daydreams or in an "afterlife"),
we direct our energies enthusiastically into moving toward our ever-evolving
vision.
Living vigorously, effectively,
and joyfully, requires dismissing gloom, defeatism, and negativism. We
acknowledge problems, whether technical, social, psychological, or ecological,
but we do not allow them to dominate our thinking and our direction. We
respond to gloom and defeatism by exploring and exploiting new possibilities.
Extropians hold an optimistic view of the future, foreseeing potent antidotes
to many ancient human ailments, requiring only that we take charge and
create that future. Practical optimism disallows passively waiting and
wishing for tomorrow; it propels us exuberantly into immediate activity,
confidently confronting today's challenges while generating more potent
solutions for our future. We take personal responsibility by taking charge
and creating the conditions for success.
We question limits others
take for granted. Observing accelerating scientific and technical learning,
ascending standards of living, and evolving social and moral practices,
we project and encourage continuing progress. Today there are more researchers
studying aging, medicine, computers, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and
other enabling disciplines than in all of history. Technological and social
development continue to accelerate. Extropians strive to maintain the pace
of progress by encouraging support for crucial research, and pioneering
the implementation of its results. We maintain a constructive skepticism
to the limiting beliefs held by our associates, our society, and ourselves.
We see past current obstacles by retaining a fundamental creative openness
to possibilities.
Adopting practical optimism
means focusing on possibilities and opportunities, being alert to solutions
and potentialities. It means refusing to whine about what cannot be avoided,
learning from mistakes rather than dwelling on them in a victimizing, punishing,
guilt-ridden manner. We prefer to be for rather than against, to create
solutions rather than to protest against what exists. Our optimism is also
realism in that we take the world as it is and do not complain that life
is not fair. Practical optimism requires us to take the initiative, to
jump up and plow into our difficulties, our actions declaring that we can
achieve our goals, rather than sitting back and submerging ourselves in
defeatist thinking.
Our actions and words embody
practical optimism, inspiring others to excel. We are responsible for taking
the initiative in spreading this invigorating optimism; sustaining and
strengthening our own dynamism is more easily achieved in a mutually reinforcing
environment. We stimulate optimism in others by communicating our extropian
ideas and by living our ideals.
Practical optimism and passive
faith are incompatible. Practical optimism means critical optimism. Faith
in a better future is confidence that an external force, whether God, State,
or even extraterrestrials, will solve our problems. Faith breeds passivity
by promising progress as a gift bestowed on us by superior forces. But,
in return for the gift, faith requires a fixed belief in and supplication
to external forces, thereby creating dogmatic beliefs and irrational behavior.
Practical optimism fosters initiative and intelligence, assuring us that
we are capable of improving life through our own efforts. Opportunities
and possibilities are everywhere, calling to us to seize them and to build
upon them. Attaining our goals requires that we believe in ourselves, work
diligently, and be willing to revise our strategies.
Where others see difficulties,
we see challenges. Where others give up, we move forward. Where others
say enough is enough, we say Forward! Upward! Outward! We espouse personal,
social, and technological evolution into ever better forms. Rather than
shrinking from future shock, Extropians continue to advance the wave of
evolutionary progress. |
Intelligent
Technology
Extropians affirm the necessity
and desirability of science and technology. We use practical methods to
advance our goals of expanded intelligence, superior physical abilities,
psychological refinement, social advance, and indefinite life spans. We
prefer science to mysticism, and technology to prayer. We regard science
and technology as indispensable means to the achievement of our most noble
values, ideals, and visions and to our further evolution. We seek to foster
these disciplined forms of intelligence, and to direct them toward eradicating
the barriers to our extropian objectives, radically transforming both the
internal and external conditions of existence.
Technology is a natural
extension and expression of human intellect and will, of creativity, curiosity,
and imagination. We foresee and encourage the development of ever more
flexible, smart, responsive technology. We will co-evolve with the products
of our minds, integrating with them, finally integrating our intelligent
technology into ourselves in a posthuman synthesis, amplifying our abilities
and extending our freedom.
Profound technological innovation
excites rather than frightens us. We welcome constructive change, expanding
our horizons, exploring new territory boldly and inventively. We favor
careful and cautious development of powerful technologies, but will neither
stifle evolutionary advancement nor cringe before the unfamiliar. We regard
timidity and stagnation as unworthy of us. Extropians therefore favor surging
ahead -- riding the waves of future shock -- rather than stagnating or
reverting to primitivism. Intelligent use of biotechnology and nanotechnology
and the opening of new frontiers in space, can remove resource constraints
and discharge environmental pressures.
We favor technologies for
the beneficial results they can bring. We do not pursue technological advance
for its own sake. Intelligent Technology means not only using technology
to amplify our abilities, but also designing tools and technologies that
suit us rather than compelling us to conform to their workings.
We see the coming years
and decades as a time of enormous changes, changes that will vastly expand
our opportunities and abilities, transforming our lives for the better.
This technological transformation will be accelerated by genetic engineering,
life extending biosciences, intelligence intensifiers, smarter interfaces
to swifter computers, neural-computer integration, worldwide data networks,
virtual reality, intelligent agents, swift electronic communications, artificial
intelligence, neuroscience, neural networks, artificial life, off-planet
migration, and molecular nanotechnology. |
Open
Society
Extropians value open societies
that protect the free exchange of ideas, the freedom to criticize, and
the liberty to experiment. More dangerous than bad ideas is the coercive
suppression of bad ideas. Better ideas must be allowed to emerge in our
institutions through an evolutionary process of creation, mutation, and
critical selection. The freedom of expression of an open society is best
protected by a social order characterized by voluntary relationships and
exchanges. We oppose self-proclaimed and involuntarily imposed "authorities",
and we are skeptical of coercive political solutions, unquestioning obedience
to leaders, and inflexible hierarchies that smother initiative and intelligence.
We apply critical rationalism
to society by holding all institutions and processes open to continued
improvement. Sustained progress and effective, rational decision-making
require the diverse sources of information and differing perspectives that
flourish in open societies. Centralized command of behavior constrains
exploration, diversity, and dissenting opinion. We can pursue extropian
goals in numerous types of open social orders but not in theocracies or
authoritarian or totalitarian systems. Societies with pervasive and coercively
enforced centralized control cannot allow dissent and diversity. Yet open
societies can allow institutions of all kinds to exist -- whether participatory,
autonomy-maximizing institutions or hierarchical, bureaucratic institutions.
Within an open society individuals, through their voluntary consent, may
choose to submit themselves to more restrictive arrangements in the form
of clubs, private communities, or corporate entities. Open societies allow
more rigidly organized social structures to exist so long as individuals
are free to leave. By serving as a framework within which social experimentation
can proceed, open societies encourage exploration, innovation, and progress.
Extropians avoid utopian
plans for "the perfect society", instead appreciating the diversity in
values, lifestyle preferences, and approaches to solving problems. In place
of the static perfection of a utopia, we prefer an "extropia" -- simply
an open, evolving framework allowing individuals and voluntary groupings
to form the institutions and social forms they prefer. Even where we find
some of those choices mistaken or foolish, we affirm the value of a system
that allows all ideas to be tried with the consent of those involved.
We have no use for the technocratic
idea of coercive central control by self-proclaimed experts. No group of
experts can understand and control the endless complexity of an economy
and society composed of other individuals like themselves. Unlike utopians
of all stripes, Extropians do not seek to control the details of people's
lives or the forms and functions of institutions according to a grand over-arching
plan. Since we all live in society, we are deeply concerned with its improvement.
But that improvement must respect the individual. Social engineering should
be piecemeal as we enhance institutions one by one on a voluntary basis,
not through a centrally planned coercive implementation of a single vision.
We seek continually to improve social institutions and economic mechanisms.
Yet we recognize the difficulties in improving complex systems. We are
radical in intent but cautious in approach, being aware that alterations
to complex systems bring unintended consequences. Simultaneous experimentation
with numerous possible solutions and improvements -- social parallel processing
-- works better than utopian centrally administered technocracy.
We see all law and government
not as ends in themselves but as means to happiness and progress. We do
not attach ourselves to any particular laws or economic structures as ultimate
ends. We favor those laws and policies which at any time seem most conducive
to maintaining and expanding the openness and progress of society. To foster
open societies we oppose dangerous concentrations of coercive power and
we favor the rule of law instead of the arbitrary rule of authorities.
Recognizing that coercive power corrupts and leads to the suppression of
alternative ideas and practices, we favor applying rules and laws equally
to legislators and enforcers without exception. We champion open societies
as frameworks for the peaceful, productive pursuit of individual and group
goals.
Extropians seek neither
to rule nor to be ruled. We hold that individuals should be in charge of
their own lives. Healthy societies require a combination of liberty and
responsibility. For open societies to exist, individuals must be free to
pursue their own interests in their own way. But for individuals and societies
to flourish, liberty must come with personal responsibility. The demand
for freedom without responsibility is an adolescent's demand for license. |
Self-Direction
Extropians see personal
self-direction as a desirable counterpart to open societies. As culture
and technology present us with an ever-expanding range of choice, self-direction
increases in importance. We decide for ourselves in what ways to change
or to stay the same. Self-direction means being clear about our values
and our purposes. Having clear purpose in life not only brings both practical
and emotional rewards but also protects us against manipulation and control
by others. Freedom from others brings fulfillment and personal progress
only when combined with self-direction.
For self-direction to be
possible, we must first create a clear sense of self then implement that
vision in action by exercising self-control. The human self contains a
bundle of desires and drives built into the biological organism through
evolutionary processes and cultural influence. Taking charge of ourselves
requires us to choose from among our competing desires and subpersonalities.
While spontaneity plays an important role, creating and sustaining a healthy
and successful self requires self-discipline and persistence.
Personal responsibility
and autonomy go hand-in-hand with self-experimentation. Extropians take
responsibility for the consequences of their choices, refusing to blame
others for the results of their own free actions. Experimentation and self-transformation
require risks; we wish to be free to evaluate potential risks and benefits
for ourselves, applying our own judgment, and assuming responsibility for
the outcome. We vigorously resist coercion from those who try to impose
their judgments of the safety and effectiveness of various means of self-experimentation.
Personal responsibility and self-determination are incompatible with authoritarian
centralized control, which stifles the choices and spontaneous ordering
of autonomous persons.
Coercion, whether for the
purported "good of the whole" or for the paternalistic protection of the
individual, is unacceptable to us. Compulsion breeds ignorance and weakens
the connection between personal choice and personal outcome, thereby destroying
personal responsibility. Extropians are rational individualists, living
by their own judgment, making reflective, informed choices, profiting from
both success and shortcoming.
Since self-direction applies
to everyone, this principle requires that we respect the self-direction
of others. This means trade not domination, rational discussion not coercion
or manipulation, and cooperation rather than conflict wherever possible.
In appreciating that other persons have their own lives, purposes, and
values, we seek win-win cooperative solutions rather than trying to force
our interests at the expense of others. We respect the autonomy and rationality
of others by learning to communicate effectively and working towards mutually
beneficial solutions.
Extropians see benevolence
as a virtue that guides our interactions with the self-directed lives of
others. Benevolence naturally goes along with an appreciation of the value
in other selves and with confidence in our own self. We see benevolence
not as an obligation to sacrifice our interests, but as a disposition to
be helpful to others. We approach others as potential sources of value,
friendship, cooperation, and pleasure. We see a benevolent disposition
not only as an emotionally more stable and enjoyable state than cynicism,
hostility, and meanness, but also as more likely to induce reciprocal positive
treatment. Benevolence implies a presumption of common moral decencies
including politeness, patience, and honesty. While we do not seek to get
along with everyone at any cost, we do seek to maximize the benefits of
our interactions with others.
Self-direction means being
in charge of our lives. This requires choosing our action intelligently.
This in turn requires independent thinking. Extropians recognize the common
human weakness of giving up intellectual control to others. We see the
surrender of independent judgement especially in religion, politics, morals,
and relationships and strive to rise above it. Directing our lives asks
us to determine for ourselves our values, purposes, and actions. New technologies
offer us more choices not only over what we do but also over who we are
physically, intellectually, and psychologically. By taking charge of ourselves
we can use these new means to advance ourselves according to our personal
values. |
Rational
Thinking
Extropians affirm reason,
critical inquiry, intellectual independence, and honesty. We reject blind
faith and the passive, comfortable thinking that leads to dogma, conformity,
and stagnation. Our commitment to positive self-transformation requires
us to analyze critically our current beliefs, behaviors, and strategies.
Extropians therefore prefer readily to admit error and to learn from it
rather than to profess infallibility. We prefer analytical thought to fuzzy
but comfortable delusion, empiricism to mysticism, and independent evaluation
to conformity. We affirm a philosophy of life but distance ourselves from
dogma, whether religious, political, or personal, because of its blind
faith, debasement of human worth, and systematic irrationality.
We are not cynics who reject
every new idea. Nor are we gullible people who accept every new idea without
question. We employ critical and creative thinking to discover great new
ideas while filtering out indefensible ideas whether new or old. We recognize
that to advance ourselves on an individual and social level we need to
critically challenge the dogmas and assumptions of the past while resisting
the popular delusions of the present.
We accept no final intellectual
authorities. No individual, no institution, no book, and no single principle
can serve as the source or standard of truth. All beliefs are fallible
and must be open to testing and challenging. We do not accept revelation,
authority, or emotion as reliable sources of knowledge. We place little
weight on claims that cannot be checked. We rely on the judgement of our
own minds while continually re-examining our own intellectual standards
and skills. Our emphasis on the primacy of reason does not imply a rejection
of emotion or intuition. These can carry useful information and play a
legitimate role in thinking. But we do not take feelings and intuitions
as irreducible, unquestionable authorities. We see them as unconscious
information processing, the accuracy of which is uncertain.
Extropians seek objective
knowledge and truth. We hold that we can know reality, and that through
science the human mind can progressively overcome its cognitive and sensory
biases to discover the world as it really is. Humans deserve to be proud
of what we have learned, yet should appreciate how much we have yet to
learn. We feel confident in our ability to advance our knowledge, yet remain
wary of our human propensity to settle for and defend any comfortable explanation. |
Conclusion
These Principles are not
intended as rules to be imposed on anyone. They are not endorsements of
particular technologies. They are not final, unalterable statements. They
are not offered as absolute truths. They do express the values and attitudes
common to Extropians as we determinedly but playfully pursue our personal
goals. |
Further Information
A variety of related books
are available at Shop Extropy.
More extended treatments
of these principles can be found in essays, some of which have been published
in Extropy: Journal of Transhumanist Solutions.
Practical Optimism was previously
called Dynamic Optimism. The original (1990) version of "Dynamic Optimism"
appeared in Extropy #8. A different, more practically-oriented version
is available on the web.
Self-Transformation was
discussed in "Technological Self-Transformation" in Extropy #10. The principle
of Self-Direction was developed in "Self-Ownership: A Core Transhuman Virtue"
in Extropy Online.
A pancritical rationalist
understanding of rational thinking was presented in "Pancritical Rationalism:
An Extropic Metacontext for Memetic Rationalism" at the Extro 1 conference
in 1994.
The original essay on transhumanism,
"Transhumanism: Toward a Futurist Philosophy" was published in Extropy,
and a later statement of transhumanism was published in Free Inquiry as
"On Becoming Posthuman".
Answers to many questions
arising from The Extropian Principles are answered in the FAQ at http://www.extropy.org/faq/. |
Acknowledgement
My thanks to all those who
have commented on the numerous drafts of the revised Principles, especially
to E. Shaun Russell, Dan Fabulich, Nicholas Bostrom, David C. Harris, Robert
J. Bradbury, Chris Hibbert, Kenneth Allen Hopf, Holger Wagner, Peter Voss,
and Wade Cherrington. |
Copyright Policy
The Extropian Principles
3.0 may be reproduced in any publication, private or public, physical or
electronic, without need for further authorization, so long as the document
appears unedited, in its entirety and with this notice. Notification of
publication or distribution would be appreciated.
The Extropian Principles
3.0 are copyright Max More, contact information at http://www.extropy.org/ |
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