New book on atheism, transhumanism, and x-risk

post by lukeprog · 2012-07-12T21:17:10.435Z · LW · GW · Legacy · 4 comments

Contents

4 comments

Phil Torres is the creative force behind the highly enjoyable folk music of Baobab, and he also writes philosophy papers (under the name "Philippe Verdoux").

His forthcoming book may be of interest to LWers: A Crisis of Faith: Atheism, Emerging Technologies, and the Future of Humanity. Mostly it's a beginner's book about atheism, but chapter 20 discusses cognitive enhancement and mind uploading, and chapter 21 discusses existential risks as one of the most important things for humans to address once they've stopped fooling around with religion. There's also an appendix on the simulation argument.

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comment by John_Maxwell (John_Maxwell_IV) · 2012-07-13T05:46:53.101Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Is this a book that will teach LW a lot, or a book that will restate LW views and let us read about how right we are?

Replies from: lukeprog
↑ comment by lukeprog · 2012-07-13T06:57:06.420Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Merely a book that restates some standard LW memes for a less sophisticated audience.

comment by VincenzoLingley · 2012-07-13T03:12:03.906Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

but chapter 20 discusses cognitive enhancement and mind uploading, and chapter 20 discusses

Was one of the 20s supposed to be something else?

Replies from: lukeprog
↑ comment by lukeprog · 2012-07-13T03:20:56.580Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Fixed, thanks.