What is transhumanism today in France?
Article No.: 31, Pages 1 - 8
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the ways in which the Transhumanist movement in France may be understood and experienced through the ideas chiefly derived from the Association Française Transhumaniste: Technoprog!, currently the only structured organization in France that openly claims to be Transhumanist.
I will first present the major principles and values that unite the members of the association, then some propositions that we address to society, possibly in its political dimension.
References
[1]
Since June 2002 and the report commissioned by the U. S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and Department Of Commerce (DOF), entitled "Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology and Cognitive Science: Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance".
[2]
See the tentative of public debate ≪ Débat public sur les nanotechnologies ≫ of 2009--2010 (http://www.debatpublic-nano.org/).
[3]
See for example http://deusex.com/and Article ≪ Deus Ex Human Revolution: a transhumanist game? ≫ Silicon Maniacs, September 30, 2011 (http://www.siliconmaniacs.org/deus-ex-human-revolution-un-jeu-transhumaniste/).
[4]
Laurent Alexandre, La mort de la mort, JC Lattès, April 2011).
[5]
See eg. Antonio Damasio, Le sentiment même de soi, Odile Jacob, May 2002; Jean-Pierre Changeux, Du vrai, du beau, du bien, Odile Jacob, November 2008.
[6]
Term referring, by comparison, the Luddism of the nineteenth century, pointing proactive technophobes, those who are ready to significant actions (rampage or political pressure) to slow, stop or even reverse the technological advances.
[7]
≪ Every innovation on the technology front causes a cascading deterioration of the balance of power between the powerfull and the powerless ≫, http://www.piecesetmaindoeuvre.com/spip.php?page=plan.
[8]
Marie Bénilde, ≪ Scanner les cerveaux pour mieux vendre ≫, Le Monde diplomatique, November 2007.
[9]
Nick Bostrom, ≪ Existential Risks - Analyzing Human Extinction Scenarios and Related Hazards ≫, Journal of Evolution and Technology, Vol. 9 - March 2002 (http://www.jetpress.org/volume9/risks.html).
[10]
Jürgen Habermas, L'avenir de la nature humaine.: Vers un eugénisme libéral?, Gallimard, November 2002.
[11]
After the movement of "GMO reapers," the association PMO (Pièce et Main d'œuvre) openly boasts a neo-Luddite position.
[12]
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, De la dignité de l'homme, translated from Latin and presented by Yves Hersant, bilingual edition, 2002.
[13]
See his recent book: Miroslav Radman, Au-delà de nos limites biologiques, Plon, 2011.
[14]
"Le vieillissement des cellules est réversible", Le Monde, 10/31/11.
[15]
Act No. 2011-814 of 7 July 2011 concerning bioethics, and see the reports of french parliamentary debates.
[16]
Eric Gaffet, research director at CNRS, in charge of the "Nanomaterials Research Group" at the University of Technology of Belfort-Montbéliard, Conference on "Nanotechnologies and Sustainable Development" 25 November 2010.
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Published: 28 March 2012
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