David Pearce (philosopher): Difference between revisions
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'''David Pearce''' is a British independent philosopher.<ref name="smarter happier">{{cite news|title=Will Drugs Make Us Smarter and Happier? |publisher=[[Popular Science]] |date=2005-07-31 |url=http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2005-07/will-drugs-make-us-smarter-and-happier?page=0%2C2 |author=Vlahos, James |accessdate=2014-01-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bostrom |first1=Nick |year=2005 |title=A History of Transhumanist Thought |journal= |volume=14 |issue=1 |publisher=Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies |url=http://www.jetpress.org/volume14/bostrom.pdf |format=PDF}}</ref> He believes and promotes the idea that there exists a strong ethical imperative for humans to work towards the [[Abolitionism (bioethics)|abolition]] of [[suffering]] in all [[Sentience|sentient]] life. His book-length internet manifesto ''The Hedonistic Imperative''<ref>{{cite web|title=The Hedonistic Imperative|url=http://www.hedweb.com/hedethic/tabconhi.htm}}</ref> outlines how [[technology|technologies]] such as [[genetic engineering]], [[nanotechnology]], [[pharmacology]], and [[neurosurgery]] could potentially [[technological convergence|converge]] to eliminate all forms of unpleasant experience among human and non-human animals, replacing suffering with gradients of well-being, a project he refers to as "[[paradise engineering]]".<ref name="bodhissatva">{{cite news|title=The Genomic Bodhisattva |publisher=H+ Magazine |date=2009-09-16 |url=http://hplusmagazine.com/2009/09/16/genomic-bodhisattva/ |accessdate=2014-01-12}}</ref> A [[transhumanist]] and a [[vegan]],<ref>{{cite web |year=2011 |title=Criação animal intensiva. Um outro Holocausto? |publisher=Revista do Instituto Humanitas Unisinos|url=http://www.ihuonline.unisinos.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3811&secao=359 }}</ref> Pearce believes that we (or our future posthuman descendants) have a responsibility not only to avoid [[cruelty to animals]] within human society but also to reprogram animals to not suffer in the wild. Pearce |
'''David Pearce''' is a British independent philosopher.<ref name="smarter happier">{{cite news|title=Will Drugs Make Us Smarter and Happier? |publisher=[[Popular Science]] |date=2005-07-31 |url=http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2005-07/will-drugs-make-us-smarter-and-happier?page=0%2C2 |author=Vlahos, James |accessdate=2014-01-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bostrom |first1=Nick |year=2005 |title=A History of Transhumanist Thought |journal= |volume=14 |issue=1 |publisher=Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies |url=http://www.jetpress.org/volume14/bostrom.pdf |format=PDF}}</ref> He believes and promotes the idea that there exists a strong ethical imperative for humans to work towards the [[Abolitionism (bioethics)|abolition]] of [[suffering]] in all [[Sentience|sentient]] life. His book-length internet manifesto ''The Hedonistic Imperative''<ref>{{cite web|title=The Hedonistic Imperative|url=http://www.hedweb.com/hedethic/tabconhi.htm}}</ref> outlines how [[technology|technologies]] such as [[genetic engineering]], [[nanotechnology]], [[pharmacology]], and [[neurosurgery]] could potentially [[technological convergence|converge]] to eliminate all forms of unpleasant experience among human and non-human animals, replacing suffering with gradients of well-being, a project he refers to as "[[paradise engineering]]".<ref name="bodhissatva">{{cite news|title=The Genomic Bodhisattva |publisher=H+ Magazine |date=2009-09-16 |url=http://hplusmagazine.com/2009/09/16/genomic-bodhisattva/ |accessdate=2014-01-12}}</ref> A [[transhumanist]] and a [[vegan]],<ref>{{cite web |year=2011 |title=Criação animal intensiva. Um outro Holocausto? |publisher=Revista do Instituto Humanitas Unisinos|url=http://www.ihuonline.unisinos.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3811&secao=359 }}</ref> Pearce believes that we (or our future posthuman descendants) have a responsibility not only to avoid [[cruelty to animals]] within human society but also to reprogram animals to not suffer in the wild. |
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Pearce co-founded [[Humanity+]], then known as the World Transhumanist Association, and is a prominent figure in the [transhumanism]] movement, inspiring a strain of transhumanism based on paradise engineering and ending suffering.<ref>{{cite book |last=Meijers |first=Anthonie W.M. |date=2009 |title=Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Sciences |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=prvCTW4V7jEC&pg=PA1389&dq=%22david+pearce%22+philosopher&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fzHTUrPDDbKtsAS204CoDA&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22david%20pearce%22%20philosopher&f=false |location= |publisher=Elsevier |isbn= |accessdate=2014-01-12 }}</ref><ref name="transhumanism faq">[http://www.transhumanism.org/index.php/wta/faq21/81/ Humanity+ Transhumanist FAQ]</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=David Pearce takes the meat out of meatspace |publisher=The New Atlantis |date=2010-06-17 |url=http://futurisms.thenewatlantis.com/2010/06/david-pearce-takes-meat-out-of.html |accessdate=2014-01-12}}</ref> |
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==The Hedonistic Imperative== |
==The Hedonistic Imperative== |
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Pearce is primarily known as the author of ''The Hedonistic Imperative'', a 1995 book-length manifesto in which Pearce theorizes how to "eradicate suffering in all sentient life" through paradise engineering.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Future and You: August 27, 2008 Episode|url=http://thefutureandyou.libsyn.com/august_27_2008_episode}}</ref> Pearce writes that suffering will someday be seen as a relic of the past, just as physical suffering during surgery was effectively eliminated with the advent of [[anesthesia]].<ref name="philosophy now">{{cite news|title=The End of Suffering |publisher=Philosophy Now Magazine |date=2006|url=http://philosophynow.org/issues/56/The_End_of_Suffering |accessdate=2014-01-12}}</ref> |
Pearce is primarily known as the author of ''The Hedonistic Imperative'', a 1995 book-length manifesto in which Pearce theorizes how to "eradicate suffering in all sentient life" through paradise engineering.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Future and You: August 27, 2008 Episode|url=http://thefutureandyou.libsyn.com/august_27_2008_episode}}</ref> Pearce writes that suffering will someday be seen as a relic of the past, just as physical suffering during surgery was effectively eliminated with the advent of [[anesthesia]].<ref name="philosophy now">{{cite news|title=The End of Suffering |publisher=Philosophy Now Magazine |date=2006|url=http://philosophynow.org/issues/56/The_End_of_Suffering |accessdate=2014-01-12}}</ref> |
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In his work, Pearce outlines how drugs and technologies, including [[genetic engineering]] and [[nanotechnology]], could enable the end of suffering in all sentient life.<ref name="lifeboat">[http://lifeboat.com/ex/bios.david.pearce Lifeboat Foundation Bios: David Pearce]</ref> In the short term, Pearce argues, well-being can be helped by designer drugs, especially since safer mood-brighteners are becoming more readily available.<ref name="transhumanism resources">[http://www.transhumanism.org/resources/transhumanism.htm Humanity+ Transhumanism Resources]</ref> In the long-term, however, suffering could be abolished by genetic engineering through biotechnology.<ref name="transhumanism faq" |
In his work, Pearce outlines how drugs and technologies, including [[genetic engineering]] and [[nanotechnology]], could enable the end of suffering in all sentient life.<ref name="lifeboat">[http://lifeboat.com/ex/bios.david.pearce Lifeboat Foundation Bios: David Pearce]</ref> In the short term, Pearce argues, well-being can be helped by designer drugs, especially since safer mood-brighteners are becoming more readily available.<ref name="transhumanism resources">[http://www.transhumanism.org/resources/transhumanism.htm Humanity+ Transhumanism Resources]</ref> In the long-term, however, suffering could be abolished by genetic engineering through biotechnology.<ref name="transhumanism faq"/> |
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Pearce's ideas have inspired a strain of [[transhumanism]] based on paradise engineering.<ref name="transhumanism faq"/> |
Pearce's ideas have inspired a strain of [[transhumanism]] based on paradise engineering.<ref name="transhumanism faq"/> |
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Pearce runs a web-hosting company<ref name="lifeboat"/> and owns BLTC Research, a series of websites originally set up by Pearce in 1995. Based in [[Kemptown, Brighton|Kemptown]], [[Brighton]], [[United Kingdom|UK]], the sites publish online texts in support of the [[biochemical]] and [[biotechnology|biotechnological]] methods by which its proponents believe sentient suffering could be abolished in future generations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Paradise Engineering : The BLTC Library|url=http://www.bltc.com/library/library.htm}}</ref>{{primary source-inline|date=February 2012 |reason=This publication is by the subject or an associated group. If noteworthy, it will be covered by a third party}} |
Pearce runs a web-hosting company<ref name="lifeboat"/> and owns BLTC Research, a series of websites originally set up by Pearce in 1995. Based in [[Kemptown, Brighton|Kemptown]], [[Brighton]], [[United Kingdom|UK]], the sites publish online texts in support of the [[biochemical]] and [[biotechnology|biotechnological]] methods by which its proponents believe sentient suffering could be abolished in future generations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Paradise Engineering : The BLTC Library|url=http://www.bltc.com/library/library.htm}}</ref>{{primary source-inline|date=February 2012 |reason=This publication is by the subject or an associated group. If noteworthy, it will be covered by a third party}} |
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==Affiliations== |
==Affiliations and appearances== |
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Pearce sits on the board of [[Elsevier]]'s journal ''[[Medical Hypotheses]]'' <ref>{{cite web|title=Medical Hypotheses' Editorial Board|url=http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaleditorialboard.cws_home/623059/editorialboard}}</ref> |
Pearce is co-editor of ''Singularity Hypotheses'' (Springer, 2012), sits on the board of [[Elsevier]]'s journal ''[[Medical Hypotheses]]'', <ref>{{cite web|title=Medical Hypotheses' Editorial Board|url=http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaleditorialboard.cws_home/623059/editorialboard}}</ref> holds a position on the advisory board of the [[Lifeboat Foundation]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Lifeboat Foundation's Futurist Board|url=http://lifeboat.com/ex/boards#futurists}}</ref> and is a fellow with the [[Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies]].<ref>{{cite web|title=David Pearce Bio|url=http://ieet.org/index.php/ieet/bio/pearce}}</ref> |
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He has been a speaker at many conferences, including the [[Singularity Summit]], and given talks at the [[University of Oxford]], [[Lund University]] and [[Harvard University]]. His work has been covered by ''[[Vanity Fair (magazines)|Vanity Fair]]'',<ref>{{cite news|title=Mehr Rausch für alle" |publisher=Vanity Fair |date=2007-04-05 |url=http://hedweb.com/hedethic/vanity-fair1.html |accessdate=2014-01-12}}</ref> ''[[The Economist]]'',<ref>{{cite news|title=I get a kick out of you |publisher=The Economist |date=2004-02-12 |url=http://www.economist.com/node/2424049 |accessdate=2014-01-12}}</ref> ''H+ Magazine'',<ref name="bodhissatva"/> ''[[BBC Radio]]'',<ref>{{cite news|title=The pursuit of happiness |publisher=BBC Radio 4 |date=2013-08-07 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b037v4gd |accessdate=2014-01-12}}</ref>, and ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hangovers and the abolition of suffering |publisher=The Telegraph |date=2013-11-15 |url=http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100246226/hangovers-and-the-abolition-of-suffering/ |accessdate=2014-01-12}}</ref> |
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==Quotes== |
==Quotes== |
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Revision as of 03:31, 13 January 2014
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David Pearce | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | British |
| Citizenship | British |
| Alma mater | Brasenose College, Oxford |
| Known for | The Hedonistic Imperative |
David Pearce is a British independent philosopher.[1][2] He believes and promotes the idea that there exists a strong ethical imperative for humans to work towards the abolition of suffering in all sentient life. His book-length internet manifesto The Hedonistic Imperative[3] outlines how technologies such as genetic engineering, nanotechnology, pharmacology, and neurosurgery could potentially converge to eliminate all forms of unpleasant experience among human and non-human animals, replacing suffering with gradients of well-being, a project he refers to as "paradise engineering".[4] A transhumanist and a vegan,[5] Pearce believes that we (or our future posthuman descendants) have a responsibility not only to avoid cruelty to animals within human society but also to reprogram animals to not suffer in the wild.
Pearce co-founded Humanity+, then known as the World Transhumanist Association, and is a prominent figure in the [transhumanism]] movement, inspiring a strain of transhumanism based on paradise engineering and ending suffering.[6][7][8]
The Hedonistic Imperative
| Part of a series on |
| Hedonism |
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Pearce is primarily known as the author of The Hedonistic Imperative, a 1995 book-length manifesto in which Pearce theorizes how to "eradicate suffering in all sentient life" through paradise engineering.[9] Pearce writes that suffering will someday be seen as a relic of the past, just as physical suffering during surgery was effectively eliminated with the advent of anesthesia.[10]
In his work, Pearce outlines how drugs and technologies, including genetic engineering and nanotechnology, could enable the end of suffering in all sentient life.[11] In the short term, Pearce argues, well-being can be helped by designer drugs, especially since safer mood-brighteners are becoming more readily available.[12] In the long-term, however, suffering could be abolished by genetic engineering through biotechnology.[7]
Pearce's ideas have inspired a strain of transhumanism based on paradise engineering.[7]
Transhumanism
In 1998, Pearce co-founded Humanity+, the international transhumanism association, with fellow philosopher Nick Bostrom, the director of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University.[13] The association, then known as the World Transhumanist Association (WTA), is a nonprofit organization that advocates transhumanism — an ideology and movement which has emerged to support the recognition and protection of the right of citizens either to maintain or modify their own minds and bodies so as to guarantee them the freedom of choice and informed consent of using human enhancement technologies on themselves and their children.
Websites
Pearce runs a web-hosting company[11] and owns BLTC Research, a series of websites originally set up by Pearce in 1995. Based in Kemptown, Brighton, UK, the sites publish online texts in support of the biochemical and biotechnological methods by which its proponents believe sentient suffering could be abolished in future generations.[14][non-primary source needed]
Affiliations and appearances
Pearce is co-editor of Singularity Hypotheses (Springer, 2012), sits on the board of Elsevier's journal Medical Hypotheses, [15] holds a position on the advisory board of the Lifeboat Foundation[16] and is a fellow with the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.[17]
He has been a speaker at many conferences, including the Singularity Summit, and given talks at the University of Oxford, Lund University and Harvard University. His work has been covered by Vanity Fair,[18] The Economist,[19] H+ Magazine,[4] BBC Radio,[20], and The Daily Telegraph.[21]
Quotes
"The Hedonistic Imperative outlines how genetic engineering and nanotechnology will abolish suffering in all sentient life. This project is ambitious but technically feasible. It is also instrumentally rational and ethically mandatory. The metabolic pathways of pain and malaise evolved only because they once served the fitness of our genes. They will be replaced by a different sort of neural architecture. States of sublime well-being are destined to become the genetically pre-programmed norm of mental health. The world's last aversive experience will be a precisely dateable event."[22]
"I predict we will abolish suffering throughout the living world. Our descendants will be animated by gradients of genetically pre-programmed well-being that are orders of magnitude richer than today's peak experiences."[23]
See also
References
- ^ Vlahos, James (2005-07-31). "Will Drugs Make Us Smarter and Happier?". Popular Science. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
- ^ Bostrom, Nick (2005). "A History of Transhumanist Thought" (PDF). 14 (1). Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "The Hedonistic Imperative".
- ^ a b "The Genomic Bodhisattva". H+ Magazine. 2009-09-16. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
- ^ "Criação animal intensiva. Um outro Holocausto?". Revista do Instituto Humanitas Unisinos. 2011.
- ^ Meijers, Anthonie W.M. (2009). Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Sciences. Elsevier. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
- ^ a b c Humanity+ Transhumanist FAQ
- ^ "David Pearce takes the meat out of meatspace". The New Atlantis. 2010-06-17. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
- ^ "The Future and You: August 27, 2008 Episode".
- ^ "The End of Suffering". Philosophy Now Magazine. 2006. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
- ^ a b Lifeboat Foundation Bios: David Pearce
- ^ Humanity+ Transhumanism Resources
- ^ "Humanity+ FAQ #45".
- ^ "Paradise Engineering : The BLTC Library".
- ^ "Medical Hypotheses' Editorial Board".
- ^ "Lifeboat Foundation's Futurist Board".
- ^ "David Pearce Bio".
- ^ "Mehr Rausch für alle"". Vanity Fair. 2007-04-05. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
- ^ "I get a kick out of you". The Economist. 2004-02-12. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
- ^ "The pursuit of happiness". BBC Radio 4. 2013-08-07. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
- ^ "Hangovers and the abolition of suffering". The Telegraph. 2013-11-15. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
- ^ Philosophical "-Isms" - Philosophy Research Base - erraticimpact.com
- ^ [p.114 Ethics Matters by Peter and Charlotte Vardy - SCM Press, 2012]
External links
- David Pearce's The Hedonistic Imperative
- Vanity Fair interview with Pearce
- Russian magazine interview with Pearce
- A World Without Suffering? An interview with David Pearce - by Marcia Rosane Junges
- NanoAging interviews Pearce
- Bostrom and Pearce interviewed by Cronopis
- The Genomic Bodhisattva (James Kent interviews David Pearce in Humanity+ magazine)
- Should we eliminate the human ability to feel pain?
- Video interview with David Pearce on the Hedonistic Imperative
- Video of David Pearce's talk on Prophetic Narratives at Humanity+ @San Francisco 2012