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Stefan Lorenz Sorgner is a German metahumanist philosopher, [1] [2] a Nietzsche scholar, [3] [4] [5] a philosopher of music [6] [7] and an authority in the field of ethics of emerging technologies. [8] [9] [10]
Sorgner was born on 15 October 1973 in Wetzlar (Germany). He studied philosophy at King's College London (BA), the University of Durham (MA by thesis; examiners: David E. Cooper, Durham; David Owen, Southampton), the Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen and the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (Dr. phil.; Examiners: Wolfgang Welsch, Jena; Gianni Vattimo, Turin). [11] He taught philosophy and ethics at the Universities of Giessen, Jena, Erfurt and Erlangen. [12] Currently, he teaches at a US Liberal Arts College, John Cabot University. [13] Sorgner is a member of several editorial and advisory boards. [12]
In issue 20(1) of the Journal of Evolution and Technology, Sorgner's article "Nietzsche, the Overhuman, and Transhumanism" was published. In it, he shows that there are significant similarities between Nietzsche's concept of the overhuman and the concept of the posthuman according to the view of some transhumanists. [14] Sorgner is in explicit controversy with Nick Bostrom, who is keen to differentiate his type of transhumanism from Nietzsche's philosophy. [15] Sorgner's interpretation brought about a response both among Nietzsche scholars as well as among transhumanists. The editors of the Journal of Evolution and Technology dedicated a special issue to the question concerning the relationship between transhumanism, Nietzsche and European posthumanist philosophies (posthumanism). Vol. 21 Issue 1, January 2010 of the Journal of Evolution and Technology was entitled "Nietzsche and European Posthumanisms", [16] and it included other responses to Sorgner's article, for example by Max More, [17] Michael Hauskeller. [18]
Due to the intense debate, the editors of the journal decided to give Sorgner the chance to react to the articles. [19] In vol. 21 Issue 2 – October 2010, Sorgner replied to the various responses in his article "Beyond Humanism: Reflections on Trans- and Posthumanism". [20]
Going back to Bostrom's criticism of Nietzsche in the reply to his critics, Sorgner also dealt with the views of Jürgen Habermas, who had also identified a similarity between Nietzsche and transhumanism, but for reasons opposite to Sorgner's and at odds with Bostrom's observations. Sorgner had argued that Nietzsche's philosophy could be shared by transhumanists due to its progressive aspect regarding man's freedom to self-overcome and pursue self-betterment. According to Habermas, who rejected all procedures of genetic enhancement, [21] transhumanism was unacceptable due to the danger that a new "Nietzschean-elite" could impose a "liberal eugenics", which would be essentially "fascist". Sorgner criticized Habermas, accusing him of being just "rhetorically gifted", and claimed that Habermas knew "exactly what he was doing – that an effective way to bring about negative reactions to human biotechnological procedures in the reader would be to identify those measures with procedures undertaken in Nazi Germany". [20]
Sorgner also criticized what Habermas had said about the difference between education and genetic engineering. According to Habermas, genetic manipulation would be very different from education due to its irreversibility. [22] Sorger disputed both that the outcomes of education could always be modified by children, and that genetic modifications were always irreversible, as demonstrated by developments, above all, in the field of epigenetics. [20]
Sorgner also put forward some aspects of his own philosophical position, which was strongly influenced by his teacher Gianni Vattimo. [23] Sorgner, accepts Vattimo's "weak thought" (Italian: "pensiero debole"), but criticises Vattimo's understanding of the history of the "weakening of Being". [24] [25] As an alternative, Sorgner suggests a this-worldly, naturalist and perspectivist interpretation of the world, a view that he explained in more detail in his 2010 monograph Menschenwürde nach Nietzsche: Die Geschichte eines Begriffs (Human dignity after Nietzsche: history of a concept). [26] Sorgner regards "nihilism", as described by Nietzsche, "entirely a gain": [27]
"This also means that the dominant concept of human dignity, from the perspective of perspectivism, has no higher status in terms of knowing the truth in correspondence to reality than the conceptions of Adolf Hitler or Pol Pot". [28] After bioethicists and transhumanists discussed the relationship between Nietzsche and transhumanism, the debate was taken up by some leading Nietzsche scholars. Keith Ansell-Pearson, Paul Loeb and Babette Babich wrote responses in the journal The Agonist which is being published by the Nietzsche Circle (New York). [29] Sorgner's perspectivist "metahumanism" [30] and in particular his Menschenwürde nach Nietzsche was dealt with in a symposium organised by the "Nietzsche Forum Munich" which had been co-founded by Thomas Mann. [31] Leading German philosophers, e.g. Annemarie Pieper, responded to Sorgner's radical suggestions concerning the need to revise the prevalent conception of human dignity at this event.
In May 2013, the weekly newspaper Die Zeit published an interview with Sorgner in which several of his suggestions concerning human dignity, emerging technologies and trans- and posthumanism were summarized. [32] In Autumn 2014, an essay collection entitled Umwertung der Menschenwürde (Transvaluation of human dignity), edited by Beatrix Vogel, was published by Alber Verlag in which leading international theologians, philosophers, and ethicists wrote critical replies to Sorgner's suggestions concerning the notion "human dignity". [25]
Sorgner has been an invited and keynote speaker at many important events and conferences, e.g. phil.cologne , [33] TED, [34] and the World Humanities Forum, ICISTS-KAIST. [10] According to Rainer Zimmmermann of the "Identity Foundation", a recently set-up German private think tank, Sorgner is "Germany's leading post- and transhumanist philosopher ("Deutschlands führender post- und transhumanistischer Philosoph"). [35]
In 2021, Sorgner published We Have Always Been Cyborgs, [36] in which the author argues that since one can define a "cyborg" as "a governed, a steered organism", [37] then "we have always been cyborgs". The kind of transhumanism proposed by Sorgner relies above all on what he calls "carbon-based transhuman technologies", that is gene editing, genetic engineering and gene selection, which he refers to as mankind's "most important scientific invention". [38] As for him gene modification is "structurally analogous to traditional parental education", [39] also from an ethical point of view we should not use different moral criteria for "traditional" education and for genetic engineering, if the latter is aimed at achieving the greatest good for humanity. For the same reason, according to Sorgner, all ethical reservations advanced so far against moral enhancement disappear. [40]
Posthumanism or post-humanism is an idea in continental philosophy and critical theory responding to the presence of anthropocentrism in 21st-century thought. Posthumanization comprises "those processes by which a society comes to include members other than 'natural' biological human beings who, in one way or another, contribute to the structures, dynamics, or meaning of the society."
Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement that advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available new and future technologies that can greatly enhance longevity, cognition, and well-being.
Transhuman, or trans-human, is the concept of an intermediary form between human and posthuman. In other words, a transhuman is a being that resembles a human in most respects but who has powers and abilities beyond those of standard humans. These abilities might include improved intelligence, awareness, strength, and/or durability. Transhumans appear in science-fiction, sometimes as cyborgs or genetically-enhanced humans.
Extropianism, also referred to as the philosophy of extropy, is an "evolving framework of values and standards for continuously improving the human condition". Extropians believe that advances in science and technology will some day let people live indefinitely. An extropian may wish to contribute to this goal, e.g. by doing research and development or by volunteering to test new technology.
The term superhuman refers to humans, humanoids or other beings with qualities and abilities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. The related concept of a super race refers to an entire category of beings with the same or varying superhuman characteristics, created from present-day human beings by deploying various means such as eugenics, euthenics, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and/or brain–computer interfacing to accelerate the process of human evolution.
David Pearce is a British transhumanist philosopher. He is the co-founder of the World Transhumanist Association, currently rebranded and incorporated as Humanity+. Pearce approaches ethical issues from a lexical negative utilitarian perspective.
Humanity+ is a non-profit international educational organization that advocates the ethical use of technologies and evidence-based science to improve the human condition.
Max More is a philosopher and futurist who writes, speaks, and consults on emerging technologies. He was the president and CEO of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation between 2010 and 2020.
James J. Hughes is an American sociologist, bioethicist and futurist. He is the Executive Director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and is the Associate Provost for institutional research, assessment, and planning at University of Massachusetts Boston. He is the author of Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future and is currently writing a book on secular Buddhism and moral bioenhancement tentatively titled Cyborg Buddha: Using Neurotechnology to Become Better People.
Morphological freedom refers to a proposed civil right of a person to either maintain or modify their own body, on their own terms, through informed, consensual recourse to, or refusal of, available therapeutic or enabling medical technology.
The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) is a technoprogressive think tank that seeks to "promote ideas about how technological progress can increase freedom, happiness, and human flourishing in democratic societies." It was incorporated in the United States in 2004, as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, by philosopher Nick Bostrom and bioethicist James Hughes.
Gianteresio Vattimo was an Italian philosopher and politician.
Many of the tropes of science fiction can be viewed as similar to the goals of transhumanism. Science fiction literature contains many positive depictions of technologically enhanced human life, occasionally set in utopian societies. However, science fiction's depictions of technologically enhanced humans or other posthuman beings frequently come with a cautionary twist. The more pessimistic scenarios include many dystopian tales of human bioengineering gone wrong.
Natasha Vita-More is an American strategic designer in the area of human enhancement and life extension. Her interests are located within the ethical uses of science and technology and socio-political implications of revolutionary advances impacting humanity's future.
Body hacking is the application of the hacker ethic in pursuit of enhancement or change to the body's functions through technological means, such as do-it-yourself cybernetic devices or by introducing biochemicals.
Posthuman or post-human is a concept originating in the fields of science fiction, futurology, contemporary art, and philosophy that means a person or entity that exists in a state beyond being human. The concept aims at addressing a variety of questions, including ethics and justice, language and trans-species communication, social systems, and the intellectual aspirations of interdisciplinarity.
Nikolaus Knoepffler is a philosopher and theologian. He currently holds the Chair of Applied Ethics and is the director of the Ethics Center (Ethikzentrum) at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Germany. Knoepffler is founder and president of the Global Applied Ethics Institute, a consortium mainly involved with research on bioethics and business ethics.
The term directed evolution is used within the transhumanist community to refer to the idea of applying the principles of directed evolution and experimental evolution to the control of human evolution. Law professor Maxwell Mehlman has said that "for transhumanists, directed evolution is likened to the Holy Grail".
Transhumanist politics constitutes a group of political ideologies that generally express the belief in improving human individuals through science and technology. Specific topics include space migration, and cryogenic suspension. It is considered the opposing ideal to the concept of bioconservatism, as Transhumanist politics argue for the use of all technology to enhance human individuals.
Bioconservatism is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes caution and restraint in the use of biotechnologies, particularly those involving genetic manipulation and human enhancement. The term "bioconservatism" is a portmanteau of the words biology and conservatism.
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