On "Human Dignity"
(From Reason Online). Those who would work to ensure we all age, suffer and die wave the banner of "human dignity" - a twisted construct of tortured meaning in their hands, as any rhetorical tool must become in the service of herding millions to their graves: "That deeply felt lack and limitation, of which Kass speaks, is what motivates scientists to develop new treatments not only to rescue people from the ordinary degradations of disease and the slow loss of vitality that comes with aging, but it is what also inspires them to conjure the new technologies that will enable people to flourish. Transhumanists argue for allowing people to choose the good of augmented capacities such as stronger immune systems, more agile bodies, sharper minds, greater powers of self-control, and radically longer lives. Instead of being degraded, people will be liberated to perfect as never before arts and crafts, song and story, noble deeds and customs, fine character, the search for wisdom, and yes, even a reaching for the eternal and the divine. The pursuit of mastery over pitiless nature will not only expand and enlarge human capabilities, but it will also expand and enlarge true human dignity. ... Surely the salient lesson we learn from Brave New World is that we must guard against tyranny, not against technological progress."