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]
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 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 deals with Jürgen Habermas, who shares Bostrom's idea of a similarity between Nietzsche and transhumanism, but for opposite reasons. While Sorgner believes that Nietzsche's philosophy can be shared by transhumanists due to its progressive aspect regarding man's freedom to self-overcome and self-betterment, according to Habermas, [21] who rejects all procedures of genetic enhancement, transhumanism is unacceptable due to the danger that a new "Nietzschean-elite" could impose a "liberal eugenics", which is essentially "fascist". Sorgner criticized Habermas accusing him of being just "rhetorically gifted" and 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 criticizes what Habermas 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 disputes both that education can always be modified by children, and that genetic modifications are 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] He 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, which he explained in more detail in his 2010 monograph Menschenwürde nach Nietzsche: Die Geschichte eines Begriffs (Human dignity according to 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 which advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies that can greatly enhance longevity and cognition.
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, 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, human-like beings or 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.
James J. Hughes is an American sociologist and bioethicist. 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 UMass 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 about moral bioenhancement tentatively titled Cyborg Buddha: Using Neurotechnology to Become Better People.
Morphological freedom refers to an alleged or proposed civil right of a human person either to 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.
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 a strategic designer, author, speaker and innovator within the scientific and technological framework 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.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to humanism:
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 Transhumanist Party is a political party in the United States. The party's platform is based on the ideas and principles of transhumanist politics, e.g., human enhancement, human rights, science, life extension, and technological progress.
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. In this sense, it is distinct from the use of the term in biochemistry, which refers only to the evolution of proteins and RNA. Maxwell J. Melhmanh has described directed evolution of humans as the Holy Grail of transhumanism. Oxford philosopher Julian Savulescu wrote that:
Humanity until this point has been a story of evolution for the survival genes - survival and reproduction ... we are entering a new phase of human evolution—evolution under reason—where human beings are masters of their destiny. Power has been transferred from nature to science.
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.
Deakin University Lecturer in Health Ethics and Professionalism Tamara Kayali Browne and University of Oxford Senior Research Fellow Steve Clarke understand bioconservatism as "a term that is often used to describe those who wish to conserve humanity as it is, and so oppose human enhancement."
The Transhumanist Bill of Rights is a crowdsourced document that conveys rights and laws to humans and all sapient entities while specifically targeting future scenarios of humanity. The original version was created by transhumanist US presidential candidate Zoltan Istvan and was posted by Zoltan on the wall of the United States Capitol building on December 14, 2015.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help){{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help){{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help){{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help){{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help){{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help){{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
