/u/advancedatheist, I’ve thought a lot about that. Especially considering that I was a mormon Transhumanist before I lost all belief.
Honestly, while I think that the singularity will happen, I have lots of doubts.
I don’t know if it will turn out good or bad. There are so many points where it can just go FUBAR.
I don’t see any leaders as messiahs. Some smart people will be more instrumental than others in advancing technology, but they are human, and make mistakes.
It doesn’t have much to do with how I live my day to day. I do have some meta goals about being a kind of person who will survive to see it, if it happens within my reasonable lifespan to be openminded to all of the changes that will happen.
Very many of us come from a Christian background. I do myself. I became an atheist very early in my teens. But our background is very important. It can fool us as to what we really believe. I have noticed, too much, both in cryonics and out, a strong desire to interpret nanotechnology (and before it there were others) in the exact terms of Christian myth. It’s as if a person carries out a renaming exercise (God == Nanotechnology, Apocalypse == Singularity, Drexler == Christ (sorry Eric! )). God’s name is certainly not a central part of Christian doctrine. This person is a Christian, rather than the atheist he thinks he is. His differences from Christianity are sectarian, not philosophical. Personally I believe no conflict exists between Christianity and cryonics, although many churches will meet with disaster (and deserve to!) for tying their message so much to death. It’s not wrong to be Christian. But it is dishonest to oneself and others to think that just renaming everything, and having a slightly different theory of how God works, frees one from Christianity to light.
So ask yourself: Have you really become an atheist, or have you just switched denominations to one with a “slightly different theory about how God works”?
This person is a Christian, rather than the atheist he thinks he is.
Yeah, totally. Apart from little details such as
whether he expects “God” to judge him on the basis of character, actions, religious affiliation, etc.
whether he thinks “God” is an authority on (or indeed the ultimate source of) moral values
whether he believes that “Christ” has died and been raised from the dead
whether he sees the Christian scriptures as authoritative, inspired, etc.
whether he regards “God” as (at least) a person with preferences, opinions, the possibility of interpersonal interaction, etc.
I think there’s a reasonable case to be made that some people think about the Singularity in quasi-religious terms. But this sort of ridiculous overstatement does no one any favours.
Fun to be mentioned.
Ditto. :)
I just want to know about the actuary from Florida; I didn’t think we had any other LW’ers down here.
I know who this is. If he doesn’t out himself I’ll PM you with contact info.
Hey, that’s me! I also didn’t think we had other LWers down here. PM sent, let’s meet up after the holidays.
/u/advancedatheist, I’ve thought a lot about that. Especially considering that I was a mormon Transhumanist before I lost all belief.
Honestly, while I think that the singularity will happen, I have lots of doubts.
I don’t know if it will turn out good or bad. There are so many points where it can just go FUBAR.
I don’t see any leaders as messiahs. Some smart people will be more instrumental than others in advancing technology, but they are human, and make mistakes.
It doesn’t have much to do with how I live my day to day. I do have some meta goals about being a kind of person who will survive to see it, if it happens within my reasonable lifespan to be openminded to all of the changes that will happen.
That depends. Years ago Thomas Donaldson wrote the following:
THE APOCALYPSE HAS BEEN CALLED OFF
http://www.alcor.org/cryonics/cryonics8906.txt
So ask yourself: Have you really become an atheist, or have you just switched denominations to one with a “slightly different theory about how God works”?
Yeah, totally. Apart from little details such as
whether he expects “God” to judge him on the basis of character, actions, religious affiliation, etc.
whether he thinks “God” is an authority on (or indeed the ultimate source of) moral values
whether he believes that “Christ” has died and been raised from the dead
whether he sees the Christian scriptures as authoritative, inspired, etc.
whether he regards “God” as (at least) a person with preferences, opinions, the possibility of interpersonal interaction, etc.
I think there’s a reasonable case to be made that some people think about the Singularity in quasi-religious terms. But this sort of ridiculous overstatement does no one any favours.