3 ms·

depends on which transhumanists I guess. There's certainly a lot that are obsessed with the singularity and the God-AI, which seems to be to be a post-religious

depends on which transhumanists I guess. There's certainly a lot that are obsessed with the singularity and the God-AI, which seems to be to be a post-religious projection of Christian Rapture. Or mind-uploading, or cryonics, or other over-simplified approaches to something like immortality. But there's also those who are interested in things like the quantified self, human physical/cognitive enhancement, bioengineering, that sort of thing. It's a big tent.

ggreer 6y ago
One big difference is that the Christian rapture only rewards believers and punishes nonbelievers with eternal torture. The goal of transhumanism is to allow everyone to live as long and as healthy of a life as possible. Also transhumanism doesn’t promise immortality. Best case, consciousness would persist until the heat death of the universe. A very long time, but infinitely less time than infinity.
- ceilingcorner 6y ago
  Christian eschatology is much more complicated than what you’ve said. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_eschatology https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_eschatology
  - ggreer 6y ago
    I was using the simplified definition of the rapture that the parent poster was most likely referencing. I’m aware that different sects have different beliefs about what happens to nonbelievers. Still, the vast majority of Christians do not think that atheists, Muslims, Buddhists, or Scientologists will get into heaven. Also the article you linked to does not contradict me: > The rapture is an eschatological term used by certain Christians, particularly within branches of North American evangelicalism, referring to an end time event when all Christian believers—living and dead—will rise into Heaven and join Christ.
    - ceilingcorner 6y ago
      Again, it is very complicated. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Christian_universalism https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Christian_univers...
- beaconstudios 6y ago
  > One big difference is that the Christian rapture only rewards believers and punishes nonbelievers with eternal torture. Isn't this basically the same as Roko's basilisk? It isn't really a big difference anyway. Both are pursuing an instant of uplifting immortality. The fact that the 'new' form is non-exclusionary is just like the fact that it's non-religious: unimportant. > Also transhumanism doesn’t promise immortality. Best case, consciousness would persist until the heat death of the universe. A very long time, but infinitely less time than infinity. sounds like a distinction without a difference.
emteycz 6y ago
I'm very interested in the second group, especially in topics around mind. Do you have any tips where I could meet these people?
- exdsq 6y ago
  The extropian mailing list has both groups on it, including some fairly 'big' names in the field. Hal Finney was a member before he died and is cryogenically preserved, I met Anders Sandburg on there once who works on things like whole-brain emulation.

ggreer 6y ago

One big difference is that the Christian rapture only rewards believers and punishes nonbelievers with eternal torture. The goal of transhumanism is to allow everyone to live as long and as healthy of a life as possible. Also transhumanism doesn’t promise immortality. Best case, consciousness would persist until the heat death of the universe. A very long time, but infinitely less time than infinity.

ceilingcorner 6y ago
Christian eschatology is much more complicated than what you’ve said. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_eschatology https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_eschatology
- ggreer 6y ago
  I was using the simplified definition of the rapture that the parent poster was most likely referencing. I’m aware that different sects have different beliefs about what happens to nonbelievers. Still, the vast majority of Christians do not think that atheists, Muslims, Buddhists, or Scientologists will get into heaven. Also the article you linked to does not contradict me: > The rapture is an eschatological term used by certain Christians, particularly within branches of North American evangelicalism, referring to an end time event when all Christian believers—living and dead—will rise into Heaven and join Christ.
  - ceilingcorner 6y ago
    Again, it is very complicated. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Christian_universalism https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Christian_univers...
beaconstudios 6y ago
> One big difference is that the Christian rapture only rewards believers and punishes nonbelievers with eternal torture. Isn't this basically the same as Roko's basilisk? It isn't really a big difference anyway. Both are pursuing an instant of uplifting immortality. The fact that the 'new' form is non-exclusionary is just like the fact that it's non-religious: unimportant. > Also transhumanism doesn’t promise immortality. Best case, consciousness would persist until the heat death of the universe. A very long time, but infinitely less time than infinity. sounds like a distinction without a difference.

emteycz 6y ago

I'm very interested in the second group, especially in topics around mind. Do you have any tips where I could meet these people?

exdsq 6y ago
The extropian mailing list has both groups on it, including some fairly 'big' names in the field. Hal Finney was a member before he died and is cryogenically preserved, I met Anders Sandburg on there once who works on things like whole-brain emulation.