X-Message-Number: 31439
References: <>
Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 09:49:05 -0800 (PST)
From: 2Arcturus <>
Subject: Re: Worldview

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>>>"(Cultural) worldview" would be a better definition of this broader  
context.:


Well, I would say only a portion of a cultural worldview is devoted to things of
highest value and greatest significance, etc. I believe most people intuitively
grasp that cryonics is within that portion (whether they accept it or reject 
it).

>>>Most atheists would object that they don't 'practice' anything. A  
common quote is, "If atheism is a religion, then not stamp collecting  
is a hobby." 


Yes, but "atheism" conceptually is different from what "atheists" believe and 
practice, that is, it can be only a portion of what they believe and practice. 
If a person has a coherent world view, and that person has certain beliefs about
what is of greatest significance in life, then it can influence how that person
lives and conducts his or her life. That is practice. Ideals can lead to 
practice, even if the ideals are not supernatural.

>>>A safer formulation would be that religions are a subset  
or component of worldviews.

Yes, but I would say that is true even when religion is defined very broadly.

>>>From the marketing or organizational standpoint, this doesn't seem to  
have had much effect.


Well, organizing and marketing are separate from the conceptual approach. I am 
more interested in sharing beliefs, not marketing them. 


I don't think genuine local, face-to-face organizing around "transhumanist" 
ideas has been much tried, altho it may be building slowly. Only people with a 
real social bent should try that sort of organizing. Not to mention the tact of 
introducing profoundly new ideas that clash with people's existing traditional 
religions and customs. But tact or not, there is going to be hostility and 
emotional upset that comes with challenging and changing deeply held beliefs, 
and people who are trying to do it must be ready to handle that. There is no 
possibility of cryonics or transhumanism being slipped in unnoticed to people's 
worldviews; there is no way around the gut-wrenching and painful confrontation. 
But that way lies sanity and healing and hope.


What is not going to happen is everyone suddenly 'coming to their senses', 
abandoning supernatural religion, becoming atheists, and then making some sort 
of logical conclusion that "transhumanism" and cryonics are good ideas, with no 
initial hostility to the ideas, no emotional reaction to the change, and no 
social connection to a community whose customs reflect those ideas.


The main thing is to realize that change will not come quickly, easily, or 
quietly. No matter how much we wish that they might. And not everyone is in a 
good position to push things forward. But if we hear of cryonics or 
transhumanist/H+ meetings in our areas, we should try to go and be as nice as we
can :)



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