A Vegan in need of some postmodern inspiration and also all others will within here find information on the essentials of a veganic lifestyle inside the guidance frame of the Hedonistic Imperative within transhumanist morals and ethics.
Our central thesis: It is necessary to conduct a vegan lifestyle with a great degree of system-wide cybernetic control and to upgrade veganisms memetic appeal in order to avoid detrimental fallout and to truly accomplish its principal mission.
No, we are not talking about cyborgs here.
Cybernetics is the science of regulating systems through technological means.
Memetics is at its core the science of studying information transfer primarily within cultural contexts, based on a model of self-evolving ideas. [There is much more to learn about memetics, but we will touch upon that in a later essay, that is yet to come.]
Veganism as a diet, lifestyle, philosophy and social technology certainly qualifies as a complex system.
One could argue that a higher, more complex form of existence always mandates an increase in cybernetic control, that veganism is a valid example for such a highly developed way of life and that the integration of transhumanist principles provides the required amount of control to positively affect the outcomes.
In easy terms: Veganism + Transhumanism = Something new and better
But let us not get ahead too far for now.
First we start with a brief definition and introduction of veganism:
We could use the definition provided by the Vegan Society of England, who originally came up with the concept:
"A philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude - as far as is possible and practicable - all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practise of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals."
or we just evoke our own elegant definition:
"Veganism is the practice of intentionally refraining from consuming animal* products - with special focus on nutrient intake - aswell as opposing the usage of animals as commodities without agency of their own, while simultaneously promoting the use of non-animal surrogates".
- - - - - - -
[* defining animals as units of mobile biological organization without intrinsic sapience.]
A precise definition for veganism is required, because the term was pretty much arbitrarily chosen by its "creator" Donald Watson in 1944.
| Through a much deeper understanding of advanced memetics we know by now, that ideas are not exclusively created by man, but to an equal extent in an abstract "field of ideas". Best let us not blow up the scope of the essay at this point and just pretend you did not read this.
Does veganism truly achieve its innate goals ?
The following, carefully selected arguments are listed to provide perspectives for further contemplation.
They are not selected to convert anybody towards or against veganism itself.
Arguments in favour of veganism (without transhuman perspective):
Action against cruelty towards animals
Action against exploitation of animals
Action against unnecessary killing of sentient beings
Benefits for cardiovascular health
Benefits for overall health situation
Less need for arable land & water resources allocated to farming
Reduction of exposure to carcinogenic effects of red meat consumption
Reduction of impact of industrial animal farming on ecosystems
Arguments speaking against veganism (without transhuman perspective):
Certain industrial fertilizers for commercial crop farming are made from animal residues (for example collected from suffering-producing slaughterhouses)
Large parts of human society do not accept veganism for various reasons
Modern industrial farming practices for crops/plants/vegetables usually lead to the unintentional mass killing of wild animals (like insects, hedgehogs or birds)
Possible and also real social conflicts due to the utilization of inadequate memes for propagandizing in favour of pro-veganic lifestyle changes
Vegan diets require a high degree of control to prevent negative health effects (for example depression/overweight/hormonal disbalances/premature cell membrane disintegration)
Veganism seems to ultimately argue for the extinction of farm animals through the cessation of animal husbandry without further concepts applicable to the symbiotic continuation of farm animals species existence in harmony with human civilization & nature
This is quite good and also quite bad at the same time - but ultimately this is to be expected for a system, that has no inherent guidance framework besides a basic commandment of "do not harm animals".
What this means: Veganism in itself is conceptually set up in a too basic manner to actualize its primary goal of global abolishment of unnecessary cruelty and suffering of animals.
Veganism lacks both a proper memetic & philosophical setup, aswell as proper cybernetic control agency, especially on global environments.
In easier words this means, that veganism in its current state is not convincing enough for vast parts of the global human population and it also by itself does not have enough capacity to control its real impact on environments and animals. Thus it cannot transform its goals into reality on its own.
Veganism, as of its current state, is still a raw and imperfect concept - an unpolished gem, that could shine much brighter.
But we can make it shine - by adding Transhumanism into the mix
You will get a brief introduction to transhumanism in just a moment.
| For a broader presentation on transhumanism please refer to our seperate essay --> What is transhumanism ?
It is quite easy to understand:
Transhumanism is a set of principles, philosophies and guiding ideas, that wants mankind to transcend its biological limitations through the utilization and integration of advanced technology, in order to move beyond its current stage of development.
| By the way: Did you ever wonder, if veganism (or any other abstract concept for that matter) could itself be classified as a form of technology ? That might give you even more to ponder about.
Transhumanist thinking is more or less split up into 5 major branches:
Extropianism
Singularitarianism
Democratic Transhumanism
Transhuman Eudaimonism
Hedonistic Imperative Transhumanism (which is the most straightforward choice to draw upon for the enhancement of veganism as we will see in a few moments)
Introducing the Hedonistic Imperative
The so-called Hedonistic Imperative of Transhumanism was conceived around 1995 (and improved upon since) by British philosopher David Pearce.
His Abolitionist Project provides insight on the abolishment of suffering through the utilization of technologies like artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, novel pharmacology and neuro modifcation to create several gradients of bliss and well-being; meaning to engineer paradise through the application of advanced technology.
What transhumanism can do for veganism in general
The integration of transhumanist concepts and technologies enables mankind to go beyond its "natural" limitations, giving man the ability to achieve what so far has not been possible or feasible to achieve.
The greatest possible achievements of man are not those, that add even more destructive elements into our world, but instead those, that construct a path of enlightened progress towards a much better state of being and allow for a truly accomplished existence.
It is the same situation, when we add transhumanist concepts to veganism:
Instead of just a mere so-so reduction in suffering experienced by some animals (the lucky ones), transhumanist ideals can facilitate a complete re-engineering of our world to abolish suffering in its totality, while at the same time optimizing even our diets to a non-animal base with a complete nutrient profile, while still at the same creating a blissful & harmonious new existence for man and animals alike.
Only with the addition of transhumanist concepts does veganism reach its full potential for positive change in our world.
| Theoretically, in a more distant future, transhumanist technology could even remove the need for nutrient intake entirely through various approaches.
That sounds pretty crazy - Yes, and now we look deeper into the Hedonistic Imperative
Always remember: If it does not sound crazy enough, it is not sufficiently futuristic.
Like in many other areas of human society, one needs to think bold and out-of-the-box to truly move beyond the current paradigm. If we want a better future, we should not consider solutions from the past.
This is usually necessary because "certain controlling interests" have designed existing systems in a specific way to maintain their position of power.
This specific design of systems of course also includes abstract systems of conceptual nature... like veganism for example.
Yes, shocking to think about, but veganism might have just been specifically set up in a way to inhibit the fulfilment of its own core mission and instead proliferate negative outcomes.
Better let us do some paradise engineering.
David Pearce argues not only for the elimination of suffering between humans and between humans & animals, but also for a reshaping of global ecosystems with genetic engineering to remove all forms of natural predation in wild life.
In an engineered paradise world, predation would not be necessary anymore, as carnivorous species could be redesigned through genetic manipulation to change their instincts, behavioral patterns and nutrient sources.
According to him, it is the moral responsibility of man to ensure that technologies are utilized to achieve a state of zero-suffering throughout the world and it would be immoral to have this kind of technology and not use it.
Many species of animals were indeed changed by human influence throughout the centuries, for example dogs, cats or horses, to name some of the most prominent ones. Not at all times was this a resounding success, that kept suffering away from these animals.
The difference between our previous cumbersome “engineering“ of these species and the re-engineering suggested by David Pearce is, that this new type of re-engineering species on a genetic level would be about granting the animals pleasure without causing pain and suffering in the process or later on.
But genetic engineering is not the only transhuman concept that can be added to the cause of veganism.
| And we did not even touch upon concepts that are "slightly" more futuristic, such as applying nanotechnology directly as so-called Utility Fog. This would truly grant cybernetic control to prevent any kind of harm to animals.
What else can be done in the relative near-term ?
Creating artificial perfect biomes for animal species that for various reasons can not be brought back into natural habitats (until those ecosystems are re-designed on a more fundamental level)
Further development of artificial alternatives to animal testing for pharmaceutical, chemical or cosmetic products
Genetic & Neurological alteration or elimination of biological or psychological excuses for exploiting animals through humans
Removing animals from services where they are presently required (for example replacing guiding-dogs for the blind with either robots or just engineering new eye implants to reverse blindness)
Substitution of animal products through synthetic materials and especially perfection thereof
Virtualization of sports that exploit animals (such as horse racing)
The most fundamental change that will come to our world through the application of transhumanist concepts and that will appeal to both current adherents of veganism and meat-eating people alike is the introduction of so-called “lab-grown meat“.
Contrary to the uneducated opinion of some "vegans", cell cultures cultured from adult stem cells can produce meat, that absolutely does not cause suffering or harm to any animal.
This will in time replace the very resource intensive need to keep more than 70 billion farm animals across the world confined to mostly suffering-inducing artifical habitats and will majorly contribute to the reduction of global suffering through the application of transhumanist ideals.
CONTINUE TO EXPAND YOUR MIND (and read the article with better formatting):
https://www.mind-difference.com/pages/transhuman-veganism-hedonistic-imperative