Transhumanism and Inequality

By |2021-02-20T11:09:04-05:00October 7th, 2020|Categories: Society|Tags: , , , |

Transhumanist Inequity What Happens When the Wealthy Upgrade Mind and Body? I recently wrote a piece about a not-that-distant future in which the majority of us either don’t need to or can’t work for wages -- a world in which we have leisure and will need to figure out what to do with it. I suggested that we start planning for this likely future now, by instituting universal basic income schemes. We will also need to invest massive sums in improving education and strengthening the voluntary and creative sectors. The goal here [...]

An Employment Shift is Coming

By |2020-10-06T18:01:56-04:00October 6th, 2020|Categories: Society|Tags: , , , , , |

The Coming Employment Shift What Happens When Work is Not Needed? I like to think I have a philosophical temperament. What does that mean? Well, among other things, it implies a capacity for detachment, for viewing the daily hustle and the short-term bustle from a distance, the birds-eye view. The Latin term for this is ‘sub specie aeternitatis,’ which means ‘from the aspect of eternity.’ Now I am not a philosopher. If I were, I would be spending most of my time wrestling with the Big Questions. You know, the questions we [...]

Truth in Fantasy

By |2021-02-20T10:50:05-05:00April 24th, 2020|Categories: Culture|Tags: , , , , |

Truth in Fantasy The Bard Would Applaud Buffy Some people have trouble with fantasy as great drama. I've never understood why. Realism in art does not necessarily mean a kind of dutiful depiction of the mundane, the kitchen details of everyday life.  It can be that and be great art (Ibsen); but the kind of realism that really matters is psychological, the realism of protagonists growing and changing, living, laughing, suffering and dying through the arc of a story that resonates -- a story that is a true journey in the sense that character [...]