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David Pearce (philosopher)
Encyclopedia
David Pearce is a British utilitarian thinker. 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 details how he believes the abolition of suffering can be accomplished through "paradise engineering". A transhumanist and a vegan, Pearce also calls for the elimination of cruelty to animals
. He has spoken at a number of transhumanist events, most recently at Haverford College
and Stanford.
In The Hedonistic Imperative, Pearce outlines how technologies
such as genetic engineering
, nanotechnology
, pharmacology
, and neurosurgery
could potentially converge
to eliminate all forms of unpleasant experience in human life and produce a posthuman
civilization.
, an Oxford philosopher. Humanity+ 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 mind
s and bodies
so as to guarantee them the freedom of choice
and informed consent
of using human enhancement
technologies on themselves and their children.
's controversial journal Medical Hypotheses
.
Pearce also has a position at the advisory board of Lifeboat Foundation.
Abolitionism (bioethics)
Abolitionism is a bioethical school and movement which proposes the use of biotechnology to maximize happiness and minimize suffering while working towards the abolition of involuntary suffering...
of suffering
Suffering
Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, is an individual's basic affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm. Suffering may be qualified as physical or mental. It may come in all degrees of intensity, from mild to intolerable. Factors of duration and...
in all sentient
Sentience
Sentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think from the ability to feel . In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences...
life. His book-length internet manifesto The Hedonistic Imperative details how he believes the abolition of suffering can be accomplished through "paradise engineering". A transhumanist and a vegan, Pearce also calls for the elimination of cruelty to animals
Cruelty to animals
Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse or animal neglect, is the infliction of suffering or harm upon non-human animals, for purposes other than self-defense. More narrowly, it can be harm for specific gain, such as killing animals for food or for their fur, although opinions differ with...
. He has spoken at a number of transhumanist events, most recently at Haverford College
Haverford College
Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...
and Stanford.
In The Hedonistic Imperative, Pearce outlines how technologies
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
such as genetic engineering
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
, nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
, pharmacology
Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...
, and neurosurgery
Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spine, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system.-In the United States:In...
could potentially converge
Technological convergence
Technological convergence is the tendency for different technological systems to evolve towards performing similar tasks. Convergence can refer to previously separate technologies such as voice , data , and video that now share resources and interact with each other synergistically.The rise of...
to eliminate all forms of unpleasant experience in human life and produce a posthuman
Posthuman
Posthuman may refer to:*Posthuman, a hypothetical future being whose basic capacities so radically exceed those of present humans as to be no longer human by our current standards...
civilization.
Humanity+
Pearce co-founded Humanity+ with Nick BostromNick Bostrom
Nick Bostrom is a Swedish philosopher at the University of Oxford known for his work on existential risk and the anthropic principle. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics...
, an Oxford philosopher. Humanity+ advocates 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...
, an ideology and movement which has emerged to support the recognition and protection of the right of citizens either to maintain or modify
Body modification
Body modification is the deliberate altering of the human body for any non-medical reason, such as aesthetics, sexual enhancement, a rite of passage, religious reasons, to display group membership or affiliation, to create body art, shock value, or self expression...
their own mind
Cognitive liberty
Cognitive liberty is the freedom of sovereign control over one's own consciousness. It is an extension of the concepts of freedom of thought and self-ownership....
s and bodies
Morphological freedom
Morphological freedom refers to a proposed civil right of a person to either maintain or modify his or her own body, on his or her own terms, through informed, consensual recourse to, or refusal of, available therapeutic or enabling medical technology....
so as to guarantee them the freedom of choice
Freedom of choice
For freedom of choice, see:*choice for information on theories that involve free will and human behavior.*Freedom of choice plans to integrate US schools .*Freedom of Choice, a 1980 synthpop landmark album by Devo...
and informed consent
Informed consent
Informed consent is a phrase often used in law to indicate that the consent a person gives meets certain minimum standards. As a literal matter, in the absence of fraud, it is redundant. An informed consent can be said to have been given based upon a clear appreciation and understanding of the...
of using human enhancement
Human enhancement
Human enhancement refers to any attempt to temporarily or permanently overcome the current limitations of the human body through natural or artificial means...
technologies on themselves and their children.
Other positions
Pearce sits on the board of ElsevierElsevier
Elsevier is a publishing company which publishes medical and scientific literature. It is a part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has operations in the United Kingdom, USA and elsewhere....
's controversial journal Medical Hypotheses
Medical Hypotheses
Medical Hypotheses is a medical journal published by Elsevier. It was originally intended as a forum for unconventional ideas without the traditional filter of scientific peer review, "so long as are coherent and clearly expressed" in order to "foster the diversity and debate upon which the...
.
Pearce also has a position at the advisory board of Lifeboat Foundation.