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Dearest Mark

On what grounds is it a given that the Digital Sphere is doomed to be
posthumanist?
You may be right but I would love to hear your take on that. I doubt that
we are that deterministic, are we? How do we know this early?
I would rather view the current obsession with transhumanism (which I like
and was part of from the very beginning) and posthumanism (which I dislike
deeply, especially as it is a human all too human and highly masochistic
concept) as incredibly television-inspired first reactions to the overload
from digital. Because every one of these transhumanists grew up on Star
Trek and Star Wars and not in the digital realm (where they for the last 30
years have been doing nothing but play television-copying computer games
built on Star Trek and Star Wars). Meanwhile Elon Musk is literally
building a rocket to Mars that however is likely to only send bacteria
there but no Elon Musik to outer space (the one thing the robots will do is
to conquer space without us and without understanding why they were
programmed to do so).
I still think the word is out on what "digital" even is. Maybe today's
seven-year-olds are beginning to come to grips with it? Until then, let's
give the post-humanists a hard time.
Hey, they don't even have a unifying narrative. Mostly they are just a
bunch of isolated autists doing nose jobs and silicon tits like mad. So
they are the future? Hardly.
And to Brain Alsop, if you want to live forever how about getting a life
here and now? Begin by reading Heidegger and then ask yourself why vampires
want to die so desperately. Yes, I'm all for survival and extension of
survival. But like Jacques Derrida so wisely said extended "survival" is
one thing, "immortality" would be just pure hell.

Best intentions
Alexander

Den fre 4 jan. 2019 kl 15:25 skrev Mark Stahlman <[log in to unmask]>:

> IDWers:
>
> As many of you know, the "hot topic" today in many places (particularly
> "philosophical" ones) is called Posthumanism.  It is active at NYU and I
> have participated in some of their events.  I was supposed to be included
> in the NY group's involvement in the XXIVth World Congress for Philosophy
> in Beijing this past summer, where there were many sessions on the topic,
> but ran into problems with "permission" for the other meetings I was going
> to have (which then took place in October.)
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__wcp2018.pku.edu.cn_yw_index.htm&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=jNls1xy_GU8fXI3Kv_U_2p5phRwmfAIpQgpyjpaDIO8&s=7Ui7RktiXveJ_apQiiTTeAtHfWtarz19BPe-FV2QxA4&e=
>
> It is the view of the Center that there are now globally Three Spheres:
> East, West and Digital and that the Digital Sphere has "posthumanity" as
> its goal.  This is related (but not identical) to the older
> "transhumanism."  Aspects of this -- minus the larger context -- have been
> discussed in the "What is Intelligence?" thread.
>
> This announcement appeared this AM on the NYU group's Facebook page, so I
> pass it along for discussion here --
>
> Stefan Lorenz Sorgner
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.facebook.com_stefan.sorgner-3Ffref-3Dgs-26-5F-5Ftn-5F-5F-3D-252CdlC-2DR-2DR-26eid-3DARD677M0Ca-2DsOPJyFnMoMNMfywygRwmHAWXk71OqM54-5FylUiLMUwf2RjCLYg-5FGb9K-5FoLeYFicgH8VBhz-26hc-5Fref-3DARSj8eghSQHLpujo5BPYR3bb-2DurC5Mo95vNuLxH1EmPkcfI-2D4rdWLqr6nYmdloZTOug-26dti-3D1393341940933102-26hc-5Flocation-3Dgroup&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=jNls1xy_GU8fXI3Kv_U_2p5phRwmfAIpQgpyjpaDIO8&s=-jTfJAwydI9pK2pmCvTymfAc4AimcrnT3JkrZt_hBl0&e=> shared
> a link
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.facebook.com_groups_nyposthuman_permalink_2223414994592455_&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=jNls1xy_GU8fXI3Kv_U_2p5phRwmfAIpQgpyjpaDIO8&s=SOFPDzQSeV8BOSNHkC181KFivaYTAIzR4CrnNKiyzak&e=>.
> 51 mins
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.facebook.com_groups_nyposthuman_permalink_2223414994592455_&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=jNls1xy_GU8fXI3Kv_U_2p5phRwmfAIpQgpyjpaDIO8&s=SOFPDzQSeV8BOSNHkC181KFivaYTAIzR4CrnNKiyzak&e=>
>
> PLEASE SHARE the following information for all scholars of the posthuman:
>
> The oldest publishing house in the world, Schwabe publishing (founded
> 1488), deeply rooted in the humanist tradition, embraces the intellectual
> engagement with one of the most significant debates of our time: Posthuman
> Studies: From Critical Posthumanism to Transhumanism. The series explicitly
> targets the international audience. All books will be peer-reviewed,
> copyedited, and internationally distributed. There are no printing cost
> subsidies. Please submit your manuscipt to Prof. Stefan Lorenz Sorgner, if
> you want it to be considered for this book series: www.sorgner.de
>
> Here you find some more information about this newly launched book series:
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__beyondhumanism.org_&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=jNls1xy_GU8fXI3Kv_U_2p5phRwmfAIpQgpyjpaDIO8&s=uokP1W9wTQtmoDgpgavwb8-XjfCQB1P87nnuBTzrjP4&e=…/Flyer_Call-for-Manuscripts_Fina…
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__beyondhumanism.org_wp-2Dcontent_uploads_2018_08_Flyer-5FCall-2Dfor-2DManuscripts-5FFinal-5Flow.pdf&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=jNls1xy_GU8fXI3Kv_U_2p5phRwmfAIpQgpyjpaDIO8&s=hzvujqkAcbLwGMgkYy4Zj3fHTPs-vRFaYwZz2lWds-U&e=>
>
> If you merely wish to publish a paper, please consider submitting it to
> the "Journal of Posthuman Studies" which was launched by Penn State
> University Press in 2017. It is the first academic journal explicitly
> dedicated to the posthuman:
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.psupress.org_Journals_jnls-5FJPHS.html&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=jNls1xy_GU8fXI3Kv_U_2p5phRwmfAIpQgpyjpaDIO8&s=oHn1fFcNTuTiGKg3nDENks3Q-af1xZSRbpGpdAtFBag&e=
>
> To meet other scholars of the posthuman, the best place to be is the 11th
> Beyond Humanism conference which is dedicated to the following theme in
> 2019: Critical Posthumanism and Transhumanism: The Posthuman Paradigm
> Shift. It will take place from the 9th until the 12th of July 2019 at the
> Catholic University of Lille, France, Faculty of Arts and Humanities,
> ETHICS EA-7446. Here, you find the Call for Papers:
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__beyondhumanism.org_&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=jNls1xy_GU8fXI3Kv_U_2p5phRwmfAIpQgpyjpaDIO8&s=uokP1W9wTQtmoDgpgavwb8-XjfCQB1P87nnuBTzrjP4&e=
>
>
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__beyondhumanism.org_&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=jNls1xy_GU8fXI3Kv_U_2p5phRwmfAIpQgpyjpaDIO8&s=uokP1W9wTQtmoDgpgavwb8-XjfCQB1P87nnuBTzrjP4&e=>
>
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__beyondhumanism.org_&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=jNls1xy_GU8fXI3Kv_U_2p5phRwmfAIpQgpyjpaDIO8&s=uokP1W9wTQtmoDgpgavwb8-XjfCQB1P87nnuBTzrjP4&e=>
> Mark
>
> P.S. Yes, it is ironic that PRINT ("the oldest publishing house in the
> world") is getting involved in this.  PRINT was the enemy of SCRIBAL,
> eliminating perhaps 80% of the materials that had been written by scribes,
> ushering in what McLuhan called the "Gutenberg Galaxy."  PRINT was already
> "posthuman" in the sense that it took human communications and mechanized
> it, replacing the human hand in the process.  When PRINT was itself being
> replaced by the ELECTRIC psycho-technological environment in the late-19th
> century, this led to the invention of the Typewriter, a machine that
> allowed humans to pretend that they were a printing press.  I have know
> people with massive collections of early typewriters and, if you are
> inclined to observe the behaviors involved, I recommend the recent movie
> "California Typewriter" (complete with the logo that replaces the human
> head with a machine) . . . !!
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__californiatypewritermovie.com_&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=jNls1xy_GU8fXI3Kv_U_2p5phRwmfAIpQgpyjpaDIO8&s=1R2dbwUjIyHzaygxj8opETtfjf7DrkkMdeah-PA7n2g&e=
>
> P.P.S.  In case you weren't convinced of my commitment to the "scribal
> hand," here is a graphic that I used many years ago on my business cards
> for my consulting company . . . <g>
>
>
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> .
> For more options, visit https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__groups.google.com_d_optout&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=jNls1xy_GU8fXI3Kv_U_2p5phRwmfAIpQgpyjpaDIO8&s=kYip7t3wqaUB_Bl613rY4K8-Er-Okxe7n6AmcZbC9Y4&e=.
>

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