Zoltan Istvan is running for President in America’s 2016 elections.

Transhumanism is a broad church embracing many different approaches. But it has enough followers to prompt Zoltan Istvan, founder of the Transhumanist Party, to run for President in America’s 2016 elections. He is even planning a bus tour this coming summer. The popular website Gizmodo interviewed him about his convictions and his platform.

It’s no longer a fringe movement: “The Transhumanist Party may seem fringe to some, but it’s not. It’s mainly made up of scientists, engineers, futurists, and people who love technology. And while we don’t have a formal paying membership process, my officers and I estimate—based on social media, event turnouts, and donations—we now have about 25,000 supporters in the US. We also have approximately 40 volunteers and more signing up every week. Globally, there are now almost 25 Transhumanist Parties on five different continents, each with its own rules that it determines best within its national framework.”

The key issue is life, or, rather, not dying. “The whole experience of life is crazy and beautiful and precious. We need to protect and preserve that life, at all costs. The only rational way one can do that is with technology and science, which is exactly the principle the Transhumanist Party was formed upon. Transhumanists are a people defined specifically by their love of life…  Most Americans just don’t care about the goals of transhumanism. Many subscribe to what I call a “deathist” culture, where they insist we must follow the rules of the Bible, die, and go to heaven to meet Jesus.”

The vision for the future: “we are hoping to change the world and usher in an age where science, technology, and the right to do with your body what you want are not at odds with American culture.”

Where are the votes? “My 2016 campaign strategy is to target three specific groups: atheists, LGBT people, and the disabled community. Collectively, they number about around 30 million Americans, and some of them are already present in large numbers in the transhumanist community and share similar values. I want to reach supporters of science and technology, and the main philosophical premise of morphological freedom—that you have the right to do with your body whatever you want so long as it doesn’t hurt someone else.”

https://www.bioedge.org/images/2008images/TH_1241768413343541540.jpg
Creative commons
transhumanism

• Author
• Recent Posts

Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

Latest posts by Michael Cook (see all)

• How long can you put off seeing the doctor because of lockdowns? - December 3, 2021
• House of Lords debates assisted suicide—again - October 28, 2021
• Spanish government tries to restrict conscientious objection - October 28, 2021