Transhumanism and Capitalism with Dr. Alexander Thomas

To become a supporter and join our group chat, visit us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DystopiaNow This week we chatted with Dr. Alexander Thomas, author of The Politics and Ethics of Transhumanism: Techno-Human Evolution and Advanced Capitalism. Dr Alexander Thomas is a multi-award-winning film director and screenwriter. His academic research questions what it means to be human when cultural, cybernetic and biotechnological developments undermine the notion of the human as a cogent and eternal category. This episode is a great pairing to last week's episode with Quinn Slobodian.  We mentioned a lot of texts and authors in this episode that we've included below. Inclusion does not mean agreement in all instances.  Critical Analyses of Transhumanism & Longtermism University of East London: A Critical Look at the Rise and Risks of Transhumanism Emile Torres in The Guardian: Pro-Extinctionists and the Longtermist Threat Torres in Aeon: Why Longtermism Is the World's Most Dangerous Secular Credo Boston Review: The New Moral Mathematics New Statesman: The Longtermist Threat to Humanity Slate: Existential Risk vs Human Apathy Economics Papers: Is Longtermism Dangerous? Tyler Austin Harper thread on X: Post Books & Research on Transhumanism Posthuman Bliss? by Susan B. Levin: Oxford University Press The Proactionary Imperative by Steve Fuller: Palgrave Macmillan Citizen Cyborg by James Hughes: Westview Press James Hughes lecture: What Is Transhumanism? (PDF) Nietzschean Meditations by Stefan Lorenz Sorgner: Amazon Future Superhuman by Elise Bohan: Amazon Mind Children by Hans Moravec: CUNY Commentary Research paper: Transhumanism: A Progressive Vision or Capitalism's Last Ideological Resort? Transhumanism: The Future of Humanity (book): Hudson Booksellers IAI Essay: The Irrationality of Transhumanists Literal Magazine: Transhumanism: Bostrom and Pearce Interview Futurism, Accelerationism & Up-Wingers Wired (1994): The Extropians The Breakthrough Institute: Rise of the Up-Wingers AEI: Up-Wing America Slate: Reframing Environmental Policy Aeon: Up vs Down Politics F. M. Esfandiary's Manifesto: Up-Wingers (Book) The Guardian: Accelerationism Explained Philosophy, Politics & Theory Achille Mbembe: Necropolitics (PDF) MIT Press: Cybernetics by Norbert Wiener Mark Fisher's Capitalist Realism: Book New Statesman: On K-Punk and Fisher Dan Paul Zimmer website: Main | Research Billionaires NYT: Elon Musk, Trump, Drugs, and Children Sam Altman: Moore's Law for Everything