The Abolitionist Society is a non-profit foundation and forum, founded in 2002, dedicated to the advancement of the philosophy of Abolitionism, a movement which proposes the use of biotechnology to maximize happiness and minimize suffering.^[1] For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... The structure of insulin Biotechnology is technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. ...

“Abolition” is used for the name of the movement, as in “the abolition of suffering".

Philosophy

Abolitionism, not to be confused with the anti-slavery movement of a similar name, is motivated by Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarian ethic,^[2] but goes a step further in that it is more principally inspired by the tenets of negative utilitarianism.^[3] Most Abolitionists would be classified as negative utilitarian, believing that suffering of any kind, no matter how small, should be prevented.^[4] Philosopher David Pearce’s Abolitionist manifesto, ‘’The Hedonistic Imperative’’, serves as both the inspiration for the group’s beliefs and as a demonstration of how the world can convert Abolitionist philosophies into reality. Jeremy Bentham (IPA: or ) (February 15, 1748 O.S. (February 26, 1749 N.S.) – June 6, 1832) was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. ... Utilitarianism (1861), see Utilitarianism (book). ... David Pearce is a British philosopher who promotes the abolition of suffering in all sentient life. ... The Hedonistic Imperative is a manifesto by David Pearce outlining the goals of an endeavor to use genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and neuroscience to eliminate suffering in all sentient life. ...

To many people surveyed, achieving the highest level of happiness possible is the most important aspect and primary goal of their lives.^[5] Many people think that money or love will make them happier, but this has not been found to be the case at all.^[6][7] Happiness exists, but sometimes not for long, and people experience negative consequences from emotions and events to a greater extent than they experience the opposite effect from positive emotions-- it is easy to make someone unhappy and much less easy to make that person happy again.^[8] Humans have been found in scientific studies to achieve a “baseline happiness”,^[9] sometimes called the hedonic treadmill, a pre-determined happiness level that a person will return to throughout their entire lives no matter what happens to him or her, regardless of income^[10], and regardless of the occurrence of events that most people theorize would make a person permanently happy or permanently sad, such as a lottery win or the death of a close relative. Happiness is an emotional or affective state that feels good or pleasing. ... Brickman and Campbell coined the term Hedonic Treadmill in their essay Hedonic Relativism and Planning the Good Society (1971), which appeared in M.H. Apley, ed. ...

Darwinian humans are programmed for maximum reproduction^[11] rather than for maximum happiness and are therefore not able to experience the extended pleasure and happiness that they theoretically could due to the current physical limitations of their own brain structures. Through advanced scientific| research, especially in the fields of neuroscience, biotechnology, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and pharmaceutical therapy, Pearce theorizes in his manifesto that humans can overcome their Darwinian propensity for depression and suffering. Abolitionists see depression as a physical, not mental, deficiency, that can therefore be solved just as anesthesia can prevent pain and just as medication can often make one feel better or worse. A depressed person can usually make themselves feel better only by attacking the physical root of the depression, by taking an antidepressant that changes serotonin re-uptake levels in the brain. By similarly re-engineering the brain, humans can become a new kind of being which experiences primarily happiness rather than a longing to reproduce. Some imagine that this could be accomplished through not only technology already in the pipeline, such as genetic engineering, but techniques that have not yet been realized such as mind uploading. This article is about evolution in biology. ... For other uses, see Reproduction (disambiguation) Reproduction is the biological process by which new individual organisms are produced. ... Happiness is an emotional or affective state that feels good or pleasing. ... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... Drawing of the cells in the chicken cerebellum by S. Ramón y Cajal Neuroscience is a field that is devoted to the scientific study of the nervous system. ... The structure of insulin Biotechnology is technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. ... Molecular gears from a NASA computer simulation. ... An iconic image of genetic engineering; this autoluminograph from 1986 of a glowing transgenic tobacco plant bearing the luciferase, illustrating the possibilities of genetic engineering. ... Charles Robert Darwin FRS (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist [1] who achieved lasting fame by producing considerable evidence that species originated through evolutionary change, at the same time proposing the scientific theory that natural selection is the mechanism by which such change occurs. ... Look up depression in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Anesthesia or anaesthesia (see spelling differences) has traditionally meant the process of blocking the perception of pain and other sensations. ... An antidepressant, in the most common usage, is a medication used to alleviate clinical depression or dysthymia (mild depression), including in the context of bipolar disorder. ... By the mid 20th century humans had achieved a level of technological mastery sufficient to leave the surface of the planet for the first time and explore space. ... In Transhumanism and science fiction, mind transfer (also referred to as mind uploading or mind downloading, depending on ones perspective) refers to the hypothetical transfer of a human mind either into a computer or other non-human receptacle, or from one human body to another. ...

Abolitionists desire to promote this idea that emotions have a physical, not mental, source-- and use it to fundamentally change the way that humans' brains operate and the way that humans experience life.^[12] Abolitionists believe that where Darwinian evolution has failed to create happiness for all people, technology can take over and create a new type of human which feels only happiness and never suffers. The Abolitionist Society is dedicated to bringing this idea to fruition.

Scientific Advancements

The goals of the Abolitionist Society can only be accomplished through scientific research. Recently, laboratory breakthroughs have bolstered the group's ideas by reinforcing the idea that happiness is physically-based and can be influenced through scientific methods. A recent study found that when a certain gene affecting seratonin levels was removed from the brains of mice, the rodents became happy no matter their circumstances and no matter how depressed they would normally be.[1] Guy Debonnel and his colleagues at McGill University conducted the research, which proved for the first time in a laboratory setting that depression could be entirely eliminated in an animal through gene manipulation. McGill University is a publicly funded, non-denominational, co-educational research university located in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ...

Abolitionism

The term Abolitionism, used to describe the use of biotechnology to eliminate suffering, was first proposed by Lewis Mancini in 1986, in his articles for Medical Hypotheses Journal. Abolitionism is the use of science to maximize happiness and minimize suffering — not just in humans but in all sentient life. It is a philosophy inspired by utilitarian ethics: if happiness equals value, then the elimination of suffering or 'maximization of value' should be the prime objective of the human race.

Abolitionism makes no distinction among sentient creatures — all are deemed worthy of being saved from suffering by biotechnological intervention.

Although similar to Transhumanism, Abolitionism declares that we should not stop at “better than well” and seeks proof for any reasoning as to why human beings must continue to be designed to suffer. Posthuman Future, an illustration by Michael Gibbs for The Chronicle of Higher Educations look at how biotechnology will change the human experience. ...

Founders

David Pearce, author of ‘’The Hedonistic Imperative’’ and honorary president, founded the group with Pablo Stafforini, Sean Henderson, and Jaime Savage. The Abolitionist Society now serves as the focal point and prime community for this movement and philosophy. Pearce maintains a network of related websites on the Abolitionist movement and associated subjects^[13]. The Abolitionist Society exists as a forum and ongoing initiative to critically evaluate and apply the ideals of Abolitionism through means of a nonprofit foundation. David Pearce is a British philosopher who promotes the abolition of suffering in all sentient life. ... The Hedonistic Imperative is a manifesto by David Pearce outlining the goals of an endeavor to use genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and neuroscience to eliminate suffering in all sentient life. ...

Quotes

Technofantasy? Quite possibly. Perhaps we'll opt to conserve the nasty side of life for ever. But if you think minimising suffering is a good idea - and bioscience holds the answers - then web-based campaigning to win hearts and minds is a rational strategy.

—David Pearce David Pearce is a British philosopher who promotes the abolition of suffering in all sentient life. ...

[2]

Literature relating to the Abolitionist project

• Responses to commonly raised objections about the Abolitionist project
• The Hedonistic Imperative
• Buddhism and Abolitionism
• Critique of Huxley's Brave New World
• Utopian Surgery: Early Arguments Against Anaesthesia in Surgery, Dentistry and Childbirth
• Utopian Pharmacology: Mental Health in the Third Millennium, MDMA and Beyond
• Would You Be Happier If You Were Richer? (pdf)

References

1. ^ The Abolitionist Society. About Us. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
2. ^ Interview with David Pearce. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
3. ^ Utilitarian Bioethics. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
4. ^ The Despair of John Stuart Mill. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
5. ^ Natasha Walter. The most precious commodity. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
6. ^ Happiness, Money, and Giving It Away. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
7. ^ Daniel Kahneman, Alan B. Krueger, David Schkade, Norbert Schwarz, Arthur A. Stone. Would You Be Happier If You Were Richer? A Focusing Illusion. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
8. ^ Roy F. Braumeister and Ellen Bratslavsky. Bad Is Stronger Than Good. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
9. ^ David Lykken and Auke Tellegen. Happiness Is a Stochastic Phenomenon. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
10. ^ RA Easterlin. Will Raising the Incomes of All Increase the Happiness of All?. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
11. ^ Raymond Bohlin. Sociobiology: Evolution, Genes and Morality. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
12. ^ Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. The Abolition of Suffering. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
13. ^ http://www.hedweb.com/

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See also

• The Hedonistic Imperative
• Psychopharmacology
• Transhumanism
• Genetic Engineering

The Hedonistic Imperative is a manifesto by David Pearce outlining the goals of an endeavor to use genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and neuroscience to eliminate suffering in all sentient life. ... Psychopharmacology is the study of the effects of any psychoactive drug that acts upon the mind by affecting brain chemistry. ... Posthuman Future, an illustration by Michael Gibbs for The Chronicle of Higher Educations look at how biotechnology will change the human experience. ... An iconic image of genetic engineering; this autoluminograph from 1986 of a glowing transgenic tobacco plant bearing the luciferase, illustrating the possibilities of genetic engineering. ...

External links

• Abolitionist Society Forum
• [ http://www.fhi.ox.ac.uk/ Future of Humanity Institute] at Oxford University