Max More - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Max More (born January 1964) is a philosopher

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

and futurist

Futurists

Futurists or futurologists are scientists and social scientists whose speciality is to attempt to systematically predict the future, whether that of human society in particular or of life on earth in general....

who writes, speaks, and consults on advanced decision-making about emerging technologies.

Born in Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, More has a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from St Anne’s College, Oxford University (1987). His 1995 University of Southern California

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

doctoral dissertation "The Diachronic Self: Identity, Continuity, and Transformation" examined several issues that concern transhumanists, including the nature of death, and what it is about each individual that continues despite great change over time.

Founder of the Extropy Institute, Max More has written many articles espousing the philosophy of transhumanism

Transhumanism

Transhumanism, often abbreviated as H+ or h+, is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human...

and the transhumanist philosophy of extropy, most importantly his Principles of Extropy (currently version 3.11). In a 1990 essay "Transhumanism: Toward a Futurist Philosophy", he introduced the term "transhumanism" in its modern sense.

More is also noted for his writings about the impact of new and emerging technologies on businesses and other organizations. His "Proactionary Principle

Proactionary principle

An ethical and decision-making principle, the proactionary principle is formulated by the extropian philosopher Max More as follows:People’s freedom to innovate technologically is highly valuable, even critical, to humanity. This implies several imperatives when restrictive measures are proposed:...

" is intended as a balanced guide to the risks and benefits of technological innovation.

Until 1989, Max More published under his former name, Max T. O'Connor.

At the start of 2011, Max More became president and CEO of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation

Alcor Life Extension Foundation

The Alcor Life Extension Foundation, most often referred to as Alcor, is a Scottsdale, Arizona, USA-based nonprofit company that researches, advocates for and performs cryonics, the preservation of humans in liquid nitrogen after legal death, with hopes of restoring them to full health when new...

— the largest provider of cryopreservation

Cryopreservation

Cryopreservation is a process where cells or whole tissues are preserved by cooling to low sub-zero temperatures, such as 77 K or −196 °C . At these low temperatures, any biological activity, including the biochemical reactions that would lead to cell death, is effectively stopped...

services in the world — an organization he first joined in 1986.

Quotes

"We have achieved two of the three alchemists' dreams: We have transmuted the elements and learned to fly. Immortality is next." — Max More, On becoming posthuman.

"No more gods, no more faith, no more timid holding back. Let us blast out of our old forms, our ignorance, our weakness, and our mortality. The future belongs to posthumanity." — Max More, On becoming posthuman.

"People’s freedom to innovate technologically is highly valuable, even critical, to humanity. This implies a range of responsibilities for those considering whether and how to develop, deploy, or restrict new technologies. Assess risks and opportunities using an objective, open, and comprehensive, yet simple decision process based on science rather than collective emotional reactions. Account for the costs of restrictions and lost opportunities as fully as direct effects. Favor measures that are proportionate to the probability and magnitude of impacts, and that have the highest payoff relative to their costs. Give a high priority to people’s freedom to learn, innovate, and advance." — Max More, The Proactionary Principle.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Quotes

See also

External links