The Transtopian Principles, part II

Ouroboros

VII.

Egoism. According to John Beverley Robinson, modern Egoism is "the realization by the individual that he is above all institutions and all formulas; that they exist only so far as he chooses to make them his own by accepting them. When you see clearly that you are the measure of the universe, that everything that exists exists for you only so far as it is reflected in your own consciousness, you become a new man; you see everything by a new light: you stand on a height and feel the fresh air blowing on your face; and find new strength and glory in it". And: "According to your sympathy, you will take pleasure in your own happiness or in the happiness of other people; but it is always your own happiness you seek. The most profound egoist may be the most complete altruist; but he knows that his altruism is, at the bottom, nothing but self-indulgence". So basically modern Egoism is the realization that everyone acts, consciously or not, out of selfish motives (true altruism is an illusion), and that the individual is not (morally) bound by any (society-imposed) rules or ideals unless he freely chooses to do so. Needless to say, it is one of the most individualistic, empowering philosophies around. For more information, see J.B. Robinson's essay on Egoism, The Egoist Archive and Evolutionary Ethics and Egoism by David Rudnick.

VIII.
Liberalism. Anything goes as long as it doesn't (seriously) harm the others within one's contract group. This is more or less the essence of the Golden Rule. When harm [*] is done, measures should be taken (preferably) according to the enlightened principle of equal retribution, aka "an eye for an eye". Maximal individual freedom can only work properly in a group when it is linked to responsibility (accountability) for one's actions. [*] "Harming others" includes such acts like murder, rape, theft, fraud, damage to persons and property or in some way intentionally or recklessly jeopardizing a member's security & well-being.

Though usually not interested in direct political activism, Transtopians oppose the "war on drugs" and the persecution of victimless crimes (like gambling, prostitution, euthanasia, abortion and the keeping and bearing of arms) in general on moral and practical grounds. If it doesn't harm any "innocents", it should be legal, period.

Another important "liberal" issue is the rejection of taboos, or freedom of speech. It should be possible to discuss everything, including current "hot topics" like race, sex, abortion, guns, euthanasia, capital punishment and religion in a normal, rational manner (amongst equals). Transtopians are more interested in the facts than the "political correctness" of the day. By denying or stigmatizing a problem it will likely only get worse; taboos breed frustration, hypocrisy, corruption and stem critical thinking. In a group or society with irrational double standards, ultimately everybody is a loser.

IX.
Mental & Physical Empowerment. To quote from Five Things You Can Do To Fight Entropy Now by Romana Machado: "To be prepared for a future that may be full of difficult changes, and survive in an entropic world, take personal responsibility for your security. If you are good at self-defense, you need not regard yourself as a powerless victim. Self-defense encourages your sense of autonomy and personal power. Following a course of study in martial arts may help you to develop the proper attitude towards the use of force in self-defense. Learn the proper use of devices and techniques that can protect you from harm". Needless to say, a pacifistic or "meek" attitude is definitely not compatible with the Transtopian spirit.

Another practical way to empower yourself mentally and physically is to care for your health. Take food supplements, try to eat reasonably healthy and perhaps do some fitness/light body building. Apart from obvious benefits like more strenght, endurance, better looks etc., successfully improving one's body also generates a sense of pride and self-confidence, which, like having mastered fighting skills, will have beneficial results in all aspects of life.

Last, but certainly not least, get as rich as possible. Money is the great lubricant in human society, and in the right hands it can buy a person just about anything, including health, happiness and long life. Furthermore, wealth is absolutely essential if you want to be one of the first to aquire the technologies which ultimately will allow humans to merge with machines and transcend.

Recommended sites:
Buildfreedom.com An educational site providing information, knowledge and tools to live free in an unfree world.
Personal Empowerment Resources (mind-trek.com).
S.C.A.R.S. Institute of Combat Sciences, advanced techniques for both armed and unarmed combat.
The Life Extension Foundation, a good source of (info about) various life-enhancing & life-extending drugs and therapies.

X.
No Procreation. Transtopians don't [plan to] have offspring. The (practical) reason is that, assuming that one wants to be a good parent, children are a serious drain in terms of time and resources, make one more vulnerable, less flexible and generally more "settled" and conservative. In other words, they seriously hamper one's [quest for] autonomy & empowerment. The only "practical" value of offspring in contemporary Western society is "enjoyment" (hedonistic motive), but due to the significant drawbacks of parenthood it can't be considered intelligent hedonism and should thus be avoided. Not having children is a very empowering act (especially for women who due to tradition and biology must sacrifice more) as it means that one doesn't bow to nature's and society's pressures to conform. By saying "no" to procreation, you reject being just another link in life's mindless chain of birth and death . In the spirit of Egoism, you confirm that you are an end in itself, not just a walking incubator or sperm donor.

XI.
Cynical Optimism, aka dynamic pessimism. Though Transtopians have no doubts about man's enormous potential to overcome his biological and social limits, they are generally less optimistic than "regular" Transhumanists about the future. The chances that our advanced technologies will accidentally or intentionally cause unparalled destruction are, given our historical precedents, much too great to ignore. Nonetheless, Transtopians are no technophobes or defeatists because they recognize that the very technologies that threaten our future can, when used properly, improve life beyond our wildest dreams. Indeed, without technology and progress we would be at the mercy of nature, and would soon fall prey to degeneration, accidents and disease. Either we (auto-) evolve, or we die; at this point in history we can't yet afford the luxury of slowing down, let alone stopping, technological progress. That we may destroy ourselves in the process is a risk we'll have to take. We should face the future with caution, determination and the realization that we have practically nothing to lose anyway. Most of all, we should keep in mind that those who succeed shall be "gods", with all the related privileges (many of which are probably even beyond our comprehension).

Recommended sites:
Posthumanity, from Anders Sandberg's site.
Surviving the Singularity Some of the "original" Transhumanists give their (remarkably realistic/pessimistic) opinion on this matter.

XII.
Cryonics. Cryonic suspension is an experimental procedure whereby patients who no longer can be kept alive with today's medical abilities are preserved at low temperature for treatment in the future. A "typical" cryonics procedure goes as follows: after deanimation (clinical death), the patient is cooled, treated with various medications (that are circulated by external chest compressions as with CPR) to stabilize his condition (to reduce ischemic brain damage and blood clotting) and moved to a suitable location, like a mortuary for example, where his blood is replaced by an organ-preserving solution. The patient is then packed in ice and shipped to the cryonic storage facility where cryoprotectants, chemicals which reduce the formation of ice crystals during the freezing process, are carefully pumped into the body. When this process is completed, the body is gradually cooled to the temperature of liquid nitrogen (-196*C), in which it will be stored until further notice.

Though cryonics is still in its infancy, and thus far from perfect, there's good reason to believe that future (approx. 15-50 years) advances in fields like in nanotech, neuroscience, genetics and computing will be able to repair much, if not all, of the damage caused by accident, disease, old age and the freezing process itself. See The Molecular Repair of the Brain by Ralph C. Merkle for an example of how this (theoretically) could be done. Still, with some luck vitrification, a much more advanced form of cryonics which depends on ultra-rapid cooling and improved cryoprotectants, will become available fairly soon (1-2 decades). This procedure would cause much less damage than standard cryonics, which means that patients could be revived sooner and that information loss (in the brain) would be minimized. It thus pays to postpone death for as long as possible, also with regard to the Singularity which may perhaps be the biggest threat to the suspended. They don't say that being frozen is the second worst thing that could happen to you for nothing in cryonics circles (the worst thing is obviously total destruction of the brain, as happens when one is buried or cremated). For more general cryonics info, see the CryoNet homepage, the Open Directory's cryonics page and the cryonics FAQ.

In an effort to separate the wheat from the chaff, i.e. to attract people with a serious commitment to immortality and reason in general, it is required of Transtopians (or more specifically: members of the Singularity Club) that they are either already signed up with a cryonics organization, are in the process of signing up, or at least are planning to do this asap. For a rational person, extreme poverty is the only acceptable (temporary) excuse for not being signed up. Note that ACS offers a brain-only straight-freeze option at US $15,000, which though nowhere as good as the usual cryonics treatment, still is a lot better than the oven or grave. This, like all cryonic suspensions, can be funded by means of life insurance, and usually there are special funding options available for (poor) students.

By making cryonics arrangements you:

1) Do the rational thing; it's the only chance you have should you die before powerful life extension technologies like mind uploading become available.
2) Help to support the cryonics movement, which means better infrastrucure, freezing techniques and other useful things which will benefit you in case of (premature) death. As the movement is still very small, every new member really counts. A wait-and-see attitude doesn't help anyone.
3) Show commitment to Transhumanism in general and Transtopianism in particular. It is one of the best "seriousness indicators" currently available. Putting one's money where one's mouth is and all that.
4) Buy a certain peace of mind (without having to compromize one's rationality as with religion).
5) Do the civilized thing. Burial, cremation and other such incredibly primitive, barbaric practices should have no place in the (late) 20th century, and certainly not the 21st. Think about it: we have put people on the moon, split the atom and are now at the brink of creating superhuman intelligence, yet we still stuff our dead into the ground together with some dying flowers just like the Neanderthals did millennia ago. What is wrong with this picture? Obviously, choosing cryonic suspension is a sign of Enlightenment and good taste if nothing else.

It works It doesn't work

Sign up Live Die, lose life insurance

Do nothing Die Die

Cryonics according to Ralph C. Merkle, the short version.
For those (now) eagerly looking for a cryo contract, here's a complete list of known commercial and non-profit companies that provide cryonics services. Most of these have been around for more than two decades, and all can be deemed reliable. Note: procedures and policies of the below organizations can be compared at this site, courtesy of Cryonics Institute. Though obviously biased in favour of the latter, it gives a good general overview of prices, techniques and the current state of each organization.

Alcor Life Extension Foundation - The world's biggest and best known cryonics organization. Offers neuro (head only) and whole body suspensions.

Alcor Life Extension Foundation
7895 E. Acoma Dr.
Suite 110
Scottsdale AZ 85260, USA
Voice: (602) 922-9013 & (800) 367-2228
FAX: (602) 922-9027
WWW: http://www.alcor.org/
Email: info@alcor.org

American Cryonics Society - Cryonics membership organization (preparation and storage of patients is done by other organizations), has the broadest range of services, including the rock-bottom straight-freeze "neuro" option.

American Cryonics Society (ACS)
P.O. Box 1509
Cupertino, CA 95015, USA
(650) 254-2001
FAX: (408) 253-0444
WWW: http://www.jps.net/cryonics/
Email: cryonics@jps.net

Cryonics Institute - Founded and still run by Robert "father of cryonics" Ettinger. Offers the cheapest "serious" suspensions (approx. US $ 28,000), whole body only.

Cryonics Institute (CI)
24355 Sorrentino Court
Clinton Township, MI 48035, USA
Phone/Fax (810) 791-5961
WWW: http://www.cryonics.org/
Email: cryonics@cryonics.org or ettinger@aol.com

Note: the two following organizations, though listed for good measure, have recently shifted their focus to cryonics research, and (to the best of my knowledge -- but feel free to check for yourself) no longer accept new members.

CryoCare - Membership organization, has subcontracts with other organizations for preparation and storage. Otherwise comparable to Alcor (though much smaller), from which it was spawned.

Trans Time, Inc. - A commercial cryonics service provider.

Principles I-VI

Intro | Singularity Club | Transhumanism | Egoism | Enlightenment Test | Vernor Vinge on the Singularity (article) | Five Things You Can Do To Fight Entropy Now (essa y) | E-mail

Last updated : 20-9-99

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Principles I-VI