LATIN AMERICA AND THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY Latin

LATIN AMERICA AND THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY Latin America’s Intellectual Trajectory: From Catholicism to Comtean Positivism without Protestant Reformation (Leopoldo Zea) Normative consequences: Weak liberal and individualist traditions but strong traditions of political corporatism and strong collective sense of humanity -- on both the right and the left, sacred and secular. Question: Is Latin American better placed to deal with redefinitions of humanity in light of the ‘enhancement’ potential of the ‘Converging Technologies’ Agenda? ‘Bioliberalism’: US and Europe so far gravitating to an ‘open borders’ approach to the human/non-human distinction, both scientifically and politically.

HUMANITY AND NATURAL LAW The sanctity/dignity of the human derived from natural law, itself based on the imago dei view of Homo sapiens Starting in the 13 th century, natural law detached from its divine paternity, and humanity comes to be defined in an ‘inalienable’ species-specific way. However, even this ‘de-deified’ view of humanity still presupposed a species essentialism that Darwinism – and of course postmodernism – came to deny. Now ‘natural law’ tends to refer to an undifferentiated sense of nature’s normative status (aka ‘ecology’), in which animals and even the land have ‘rights’ alongside humans. On the other hand, plans are also afoot for a species-shift out of humanity: Are ‘Converging Technologies’ a Trojan Horse for ‘transhumanism’?

SIX CONVERGING TECHNOLOGIES AGENDAS: NORMATIVE FUTURES FOR HUMANITY l l l ENHANCE: NSF/EU More productive normal lifespans PROLONG: Reverse age-related disintegration Immortaliism TRANSCEND: Natural Artificial Selection (J. Huxley) TRANSLATE: Silicon Resurrection, Avatars (Kurzweil) INCORPORATE: Universitas, Extended Phenotype, Supersized Mind TEST: Bio-Risk-taking protected by social insurance