Extropianism

Stance favoring continuous technological evolution and longer lifespans

"Extropy" redirects here. For extropy in thermodynamics, biology and information theory, see Negentropy.

Transhumanism

Issues

* Accelerating change
* Eradication of suffering

* Fourth Industrial Revolution

* Human enhancement
* Genetic
* Moral
* Neuro-
* Cognitive liberty
* New eugenics
* Eugenics
* Human nature
* Meliorism
* Post-politics
* Post-scarcity

People

* Andrews
* Bostrom
* Church
* Cordeiro
* de Chardin
* Drexler
* Fahy
* FM-2030
* Freitas
* Fyodorov
* Fuller
* de Garis
* Gasson
* Goertzel
* de Grey
* Haldane
* Hanson
* Harari
* Harbisson
* Harris
* Huxley
* Hughes
* Istvan
* Johnson
* Kurzweil
* Land
* Moen
* Moravec
* More
* Musk
* Pearce
* Rothblatt
* Sandberg
* Savulescu
* Sorgner
* Spencer
* Stock
* Stolyarov
* Thiel
* Vinge
* Vita-More
* Walker
* Warwick
* Wiener
* Yudkowsky

Influential works

* Oration on the Dignity of Man (1486)
* Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883)
* Looking Backward  (1888)
* The Will to Power (~1901)
* Daedalus (1924)
* La raza cósmica (1925)
* The Phenomenon of Man (1955)
* The Dialectic of Sex (1970)
* Metaman (1993)
* The Hedonistic Imperative (1995)
* Regeln für den Menschenpark (1997)
* The Age of Spiritual Machines (1999)
* Citizen Cyborg (2004)
* The Singularity Is Near (2005)
* Human Enhancement (2009)
* Fanged Noumena (2011)
* The Transhumanist Wager (2013)
* Sapiens (2014)
* Homo Deus (2015)
* The Transhumanist Bill of Rights (2015)
* The Age of Em (2016)
* The Precipice (2020)
* What We Owe the Future (2022)
* "Techno-Optimist Manifesto" (2023)

Variants

* Accelerationism
* Effective
* Cypherpunk
* Dataism
* Extropianism
* Immortalism
* Longtermism
* Postgenderism
* Posthumanism
* Russian Cosmism
* Singularitarianism
* Technogaianism
* Technolibertarianism
* Technological utopianism
* Techno-progressivism

Related topics

* Dyson sphere
* Technologies
* Emerging
* Disruptive
* Hypothetical

* v
* t
* e

Extropianism, also referred to as the philosophy of extropy, is an "evolving framework of values and standards for continuously improving the human condition".[1] Extropians believe that advances in science and technology will some day let people live indefinitely. An extropian may wish to contribute to this goal, e.g. by doing research and development or by volunteering to test new technology.

Originated by a set of principles developed by the philosopher Max More in The Principles of Extropy,[1] extropian thinking places strong emphasis on rational thinking and on practical optimism. According to More, these principles "do not specify particular beliefs, technologies, or policies". Extropians share an optimistic view of the future, expecting considerable advances in computational power, life extension, nanotechnology and the like. Many extropians foresee the eventual realization of indefinite lifespans or immortality, and the recovery, thanks to future advances in biomedical technology or mind uploading, of those whose bodies/brains have been preserved by means of cryonics.[2][3]

## Extropy

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The term extropy, as defined by Max More, is "The extent of a living or organizational system’s intelligence, functional order, vitality, and capacity and drive for improvement".[4] It means the opposite of entropy, metaphorically interpreted as the tendency to degenerate and die out. Extropianism is "the philosophy that seeks to increase extropy".[2]

## Extropy Institute

[edit]

In 1986, More joined Alcor, a cryonics company, and helped establish (along with Michael Price, Garret Smyth and Luigi Warren) the first European cryonics organization, Mizar Limited (later Alcor UK).[5] In 1987, More moved to Los Angeles from Oxford University in England to work on his Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Southern California.[2]

In 1988, Extropy: The Journal of Transhumanist Thought was first published. (For the first few issues, it was "Extropy: Vaccine for Future Shock".) This brought together thinkers with interests in artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, life extension, mind uploading, idea futures, robotics, space exploration, memetics, and the politics and economics of transhumanism. Alternative media organizations soon began reviewing the magazine, and it attracted interest from like-minded thinkers. Later, More and Tom Bell co-founded the Extropy Institute (ExI), a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization.[2][6] The institute was formed as a transhumanist networking and information center to use current scientific understanding along with critical and creative thinking to define a small set of principles or values that could help make sense of new capabilities opening up to humanity.[citation needed]

In 2006, the board of directors of the Extropy Institute made a decision to close the organization, stating that its mission was "essentially completed."[7]

In the 90s, the Extropy Institute launched an email mailing listserv through which members could receive updates from the institute and have conversations about extropianism with other members.[8][9] Notable members include:

* Julian Assange[10][11]
* Nick Bostrom[9][11]
* Wei Dai[12]
* Eric Drexler[8]
* Hal Finney[13]
* Robin Hanson[11]
* Todd Huffman[14]
* Marvin Minsky[11]
* Ray Kurzweil[11]
* Nick Szabo[15]
* Eliezer Yudkowsky[11]

## See also

[edit]

* Biopunk movement
* Cyborg anthropology
* Democratic transhumanism
* Eclipse Phase, a tabletop game which uses the philosophy in its futuristic setting.
* Effective accelerationism
* Futures studies
* Holism
* Omega Point
* Meliorism
* Negentropy
* Posthuman
* Proactionary Principle
* Russian Cosmism
* Sustainability
* Systems philosophy
* Systems thinking
* Transhumanism

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Max More (2003). "Principles of Extropy (Version 3.11) : An evolving framework of values and standards for continuously improving the human condition". Extropy Institute. Archived from the original on 2013-10-15.
2. ^ a b c d Regis, Ed (October 1, 1994). "Meet the Extropians". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
3. ^ Prisco, Giulio (March 4, 2021). "The Extropian Roots of Bitcoin". CCN.
4. ^ More, Max (2003). "Principles of Extropy | Version 3.1". Extropy Institute. Archived from the original on 2003-09-19.
5. ^ "The Alcor Team". Retrieved 26 May 2016.
6. ^ "Extropianism". www.mit.edu. January 5, 1996. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
7. ^ "Next Steps". Extropy Institute. 2006. Archived from the original on 2011-02-25. Retrieved 2006-05-05.
8. ^ a b Regis, Ed. "Meet the Extropians". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
9. ^ a b Bilyard, Dylan (2023-01-15). "Investigation Launched into Oxford Don's Racist Email". The Oxford Blue. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
10. ^ "Extropy Chat January 2006".
11. ^ a b c d e f Hagey, Keach (2025-05-20). "How Peter Thiel's Relationship With Eliezer Yudkowsky Launched the AI Revolution". WIRED. Archived from the original on 2025-06-01. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
12. ^ Chivers, Tom (2019). The AI Does Not Hate You: Superintelligence, Rationality and the Race to Save the World. United Kingdom: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-1-4746-0877-0.
13. ^ Greenberg, Andy. "Bitcoin's Earliest Adopter Is Cryonically Freezing His Body to See the Future". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
14. ^ de Wolf, Chana. "MEMBER PROFILE: Todd Huffman" (PDF). Cryronics. Alcor Life Extension Foundation. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 15, 2023.
15. ^ Wirdum, Aaron Van (2024-03-23). "How 1990s libertarians laid the groundwork for cryptocurrency". Reason.com. Retrieved 2025-08-04.

## External links

[edit]

* Kevin Kelly on Extropy \- Kevin Kelly at The Technium, August 29, 2009
* "Transhumanism's Extropy Institute - Transhumanism for a better future". Retrieved 1 August 2013.
* "Extropian, Transhuman, and Future Tech Sites". Nanotechnology Now.

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