"den Otter" <neosapient@geocities.com> writes:
> > Anders Sandberg wrote
> > > As I see it, we need to find ways of making extropianism or
> > > transhumanism as emotionally fulfilling as it is intellectually
> > > fulfilling. I think it can be done, but it is an unusual (i.e. new)
> > > use for psychology and critical thinking to come up with it.
>
> I for one get great "emotional" satisfaction from the immortalist/
> transhumanist/atheist complex, and I bet that some others here do
> too. It is logical after all, as transhumanism has many of the
> components of religion, only based on reason.
Exactly. However, why settle just for some of the components, why not also the community feeling, spirituality (i.e. sense of meaning) and other good, quite rational points of religion?
> What we need is a flashier image, and some genuine >H pride to
> replace the impotent relativism that is often seen on this list. Say
> it loud: >H and proud! ;-)
Maybe we should make lapel pins, t-shirts and icons for the web (the ultraviolet ribbon campaign will however never catch on :-)
> Being sure of your thing and letting everyone know is the key to
> succes.
Yes. That is why we really should show people that >H works.
> Another path to control over (religious) emotions (and many other
> things) is the mindhelmet concept. Tests have shown that
> stimulation of the brain, either directly or via electromagnetic
> fields, can trigger a whole range of sensations, involuntary
> movements and emotions, time and time again. The interesting
> thing is that the subject rationalizes his involuntary actions,
> thus thinking that he has "free will" while in reality he is
> manipulated like a puppet. If people could experiment with
> an eletromagnetic mind device themselves, pushing buttons
> and feeling "god" or whatever, they *might* gain some new
> psychological insights and get more rational. In any case
> it would be great fun, and a useful tool for all sorts of things
> (see the archive for more details under "mind control" and
> "mind machines")
Good point. If we can make such things available to people, it becomes harder to sustain many illusions about the mind that holds us back (things like one "I". "Emotions are unchangeable". "I control everything I do and think". "I'm 100% rational"...)
Maybe we should ask KPJ to relate his experiences with hemispheric anesthesia to this list, it is a nice example of how people can become aware of how they work by being placed in an unusual mental state.
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension! asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/ GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y