4 ms·

The kind of people apt to be excited about humanity expanding beyond this globe in the future is literally the exact same population that is enthused by environ

The kind of people apt to be excited about humanity expanding beyond this globe in the future is literally the exact same population that is enthused by environmental causes. The problem we face isn't thinking that we can throw away the earth and get another one it's the fact that we are short lived and short sighted. You are taking pot shots at exactly the wrong people.

grawprog 6y ago
>You are taking pot shots at exactly the wrong people. These fantasies tend to come from technocrats and transhuminists. Transhumanists very much would like a world where everything is sterile and manmade, where the natural world doesn't get in the way of human technological progress and advancement. The belief that humans are very much above nature and the world around them and that it needs to be controlled and manipulated to suit our whims, whether that's exploiting it for resources, or trying to manipulate it to some ideal state. The idea that we can leave this world and turn space or some other world into some 'humanified' place that's suitable to us stems from this same idea of human superiority over our own world and the universe and that somehow, we can make it better, more suitable for us.
- whatshisface 6y ago
  >that somehow, we can make it better, more suitable for us. Assuming you live in a house, car, tent, lean-to or any other kind of shelter, you're calling yourself a "transhumanist" with this extremely broad definition.
  - perl4ever 6y ago
    It seems to me that "transhumanist" implies changing oneself to fit the environment, more than the other way around. I wouldn't call myself such, but I think if humans do colonize anywhere off of Earth, it will require modifying what a "human" is to where it is possible to live with much less technology in today's sense.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
Tagbert 6y ago
Many environmentalists see earth as our only possible home and are motivated to save it for that reason. They are not interested in humans expanding outside the earth. Some feel that we have messed up the earth and should not taint a pristine environment. I am of a different group concerned for the environment. It is our home, we should take care of it. We are also tied to it for a very long time so we should maintain it. I do want humans to colonize other habitats outside the earth. It will not be easy and it will take a long time, but we should move some eggs to another basket. We may do some degree of terraforming of those new habitats but we are also likely to modify ourselves to better fit the new homes.

grawprog 6y ago

>You are taking pot shots at exactly the wrong people. These fantasies tend to come from technocrats and transhuminists. Transhumanists very much would like a world where everything is sterile and manmade, where the natural world doesn't get in the way of human technological progress and advancement. The belief that humans are very much above nature and the world around them and that it needs to be controlled and manipulated to suit our whims, whether that's exploiting it for resources, or trying to manipulate it to some ideal state. The idea that we can leave this world and turn space or some other world into some 'humanified' place that's suitable to us stems from this same idea of human superiority over our own world and the universe and that somehow, we can make it better, more suitable for us.

whatshisface 6y ago
>that somehow, we can make it better, more suitable for us. Assuming you live in a house, car, tent, lean-to or any other kind of shelter, you're calling yourself a "transhumanist" with this extremely broad definition.
- perl4ever 6y ago
  It seems to me that "transhumanist" implies changing oneself to fit the environment, more than the other way around. I wouldn't call myself such, but I think if humans do colonize anywhere off of Earth, it will require modifying what a "human" is to where it is possible to live with much less technology in today's sense.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

Tagbert 6y ago

Many environmentalists see earth as our only possible home and are motivated to save it for that reason. They are not interested in humans expanding outside the earth. Some feel that we have messed up the earth and should not taint a pristine environment. I am of a different group concerned for the environment. It is our home, we should take care of it. We are also tied to it for a very long time so we should maintain it. I do want humans to colonize other habitats outside the earth. It will not be easy and it will take a long time, but we should move some eggs to another basket. We may do some degree of terraforming of those new habitats but we are also likely to modify ourselves to better fit the new homes.