"Letter from Utopia" is a fictional letter written by philosopher Nick Bostrom in 2008.[1] It depicts, what Bostrom describes as, "A vision of the future, from the future".[2] In the essay, a posthuman in the far future writes to humanity in the deep past, describing how wonderful their utopian existence is and encouraging their ancestors to do everything they can to make their future possible.[3] This includes conquering aging, sickness, and death, increasing human intelligence, and eliminating suffering in pursuit of pleasure.[2] The essay is considered a manifesto of transhumanism.[4]
References
edit- ^ Schuster, Joshua., & Woods, Derek. (2021). "Conclusion: Opening the 'Letter from Utopia'". Calamity Theory: Three Critiques of Existential Risk. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 9781452966588. OCLC 1272992553.
- ^ a b Bostrom, Nick (2008). "Letter from Utopia". Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology. 2 (1): doi:10.2202/1941-6008.1025.
- ^ van Beers, Britta (2022). "A better way of being? Human rights, transhumanism and 'the utopian standpoint of man'". In Bart van Klink, Marta Sconiewicka, and Leon van den Broeke (Eds.). Utopian Thinking in Law, Politics, Architecture and Technology: Hope in a Hopeless World. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 252. ISBN 9781803921402. doi:10.4337/9781803921402.00021.
- ^ Klonowska, Barbara (2017). "Transhumanist desire and utopian tensions in David Cronenberg’s Crash". Beyond Philology. 14 (4): 112-123.