Very, very good. Strange analogy/harmony: Raina Raskin has a Mother's Day essay "How Motherhood Liberated Me" is about a life spent in our competitive world, trying to be extraordinary, and finding meaning in breast feeding, which isn't even specific to humans: "And now, here I was, doing something that literally defines the female mammal. "
I think there are philosophical reasons to see "the human" as that which is singular to humans, thus in the gaps left by technologies. "Ding an sich," "PURE reason," a bunch of Aristotle, usw. And it comes very naturally, as Raskin discusses, in commercial societies. Why are you "the best" or at least "the best value" or "best available" at X. But, comparisons are invidious . . . again, very nicely done, helped my own thinking, thank you.
I truly think that AI has gone far enough that it is the anti-life equation; it denies the need for life to exist to produce anything. Its not even just about humanity
Fantastic article that made me thing about my own leanings! One aspect that the gaps thinking also implicitly assumes is a somewhat linear progression of our current civilisation, whereas there might come a time (soon) when a drastic re-evaluation of which technologies we can stick with and which we need to let go of is needed to keep the planet inhabitable and to begin building the next civilisation.
Right. This also touches on some of my reservations about techno-humanism. The linear historical narrative that I tend to hear from that camp leaves very little room for skepticism, reconsideration, or reversal of technological transformations. Once you have committed ideologically to the idea that technology completes human nature, you will find yourself justifying its excesses rather than reversing them, and looking to yet more technical solutions to address technological problems.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-024-09775-5
Excellent essay. Ivan Illich has also touched on the same issues.
Thank you for reading! Ivan Illich is an important voice here. I often find myself channeling his ideas without explicitly naming him.
Very, very good. Strange analogy/harmony: Raina Raskin has a Mother's Day essay "How Motherhood Liberated Me" is about a life spent in our competitive world, trying to be extraordinary, and finding meaning in breast feeding, which isn't even specific to humans: "And now, here I was, doing something that literally defines the female mammal. "
"https://www.thefp.com/p/motherhood-liberated-me-mothers-day?r=13evep&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I think there are philosophical reasons to see "the human" as that which is singular to humans, thus in the gaps left by technologies. "Ding an sich," "PURE reason," a bunch of Aristotle, usw. And it comes very naturally, as Raskin discusses, in commercial societies. Why are you "the best" or at least "the best value" or "best available" at X. But, comparisons are invidious . . . again, very nicely done, helped my own thinking, thank you.
I truly think that AI has gone far enough that it is the anti-life equation; it denies the need for life to exist to produce anything. Its not even just about humanity
Fantastic article that made me thing about my own leanings! One aspect that the gaps thinking also implicitly assumes is a somewhat linear progression of our current civilisation, whereas there might come a time (soon) when a drastic re-evaluation of which technologies we can stick with and which we need to let go of is needed to keep the planet inhabitable and to begin building the next civilisation.
Right. This also touches on some of my reservations about techno-humanism. The linear historical narrative that I tend to hear from that camp leaves very little room for skepticism, reconsideration, or reversal of technological transformations. Once you have committed ideologically to the idea that technology completes human nature, you will find yourself justifying its excesses rather than reversing them, and looking to yet more technical solutions to address technological problems.