Anthropocentrism and the Roots of Resistance to Both Human Bioenhancement and Space Colonization

Abstract

A cartel is usually defined a group of independent actors with heterogeneous goals, whose one common goal is to improve their profits and/or market position by reducing their mutual competition. A special-or not that special at all-kind of cartel are drug or other criminal cartels in which, for instance, crime families gather in order to monopolize black market of prohibited substances, or in order to efficiently control a territory whose government is weak or corrupt. Historical examples of such cartels are the Italian-Jewish-American Mafia (especially after the famous meeting in Atlantic City in 1929, which was attended by Al Capone, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, Dutch Schultz, representatives of the Gambino clan, and others; cf. Bernstein 2002); Mexican drug cartels like the Gulf Cartel or the Guadalajara Cartel; or the now dissolved Columbian Cali Cartel. The fight against these extreme forms of organized crime is so difficult exactly because of the strong support of their "clients" as long as the cartels enjoy monopolistic position in either a geographical region or a social stratum. Some totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, such as the fascist Italy or Spain under Franco endeavored to construct a total cartel system comprising all or most trades of the economy. Cartelization exists, however, in the domain of ideas as well-and often has at last as ominous meanings and implications. From sophists in the time of Socrates, to the present-day socialconstructivists on the academic extreme left, thinkers of otherwise heterogeneous bents and interests have joined forces in order to promote particular idea, meme, or the way of thinking, not on the merit of intrinsic value, but on the quasi-Hegelian notion of converting "quantity into quality" and the vernacular "strength in numbers". In the rest of this paper, I wish to briefly defend the following theses: ➢ There is a strong anthropocentric cartel with vested interest in human exceptionalism, geocentrism, and other forms of parochial, self-indulgent, small-scale, and solipsist thinking.

Thinking ET : A discussion of exopsychology

“…Anthropocentrism refers to the habit of equating parameters such as thinking, appearance, and developmental trajectories with those exhibited by humanity [12]. In the maladaptive manifestation of this perspective, humanity becomes the literal center of experience in the universe, leading to an asserted position of moral specialty, either spatiotemporally or in terms of relevance [17].…”

“…To that end, anthropocentrism must be handled with great care and examined regarding its admissibility in specific areas [16]. In advance of the forthcoming remarks: We do not propose to see humanity as fundamentally special or exceptional, as other forms of anthropocentrism declare [17], but as a starting point for thinking about extraterrestrials. The point of reference of our assumptions may be humanity, but to use an insight of modern physics: no place in the universe is more central than the other [18].…”