Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Tag: Society

Malak Trabelsi Loeb

The present generation has witnessed a rare phenomenon during one’s life: the rise of a new civilization. Fueled by the global-minded elite who influenced and controlled the comprehensive economic policies and strategies, a new wave of globalization has emerged. Targowski (2014) defined “global civilization” as the following:

“Global Civilization is a large Global Society living in integrated horizontally whole or partial spaces of contemporary, autonomous civilizations as a fuzzy reification (invisible-visible) which is not a part of the larger one and exists over an extended period of time.”

For Targowski, this new global civilization is characterized by an advanced global culture, a “wealth and power-driven global business religion,” and global societal values based on shared knowledge systems.

In fact, Information Communication Technologies (ICT) provoked a shift in the postindustrial societal modus apredi through shifting the economy from a product-based to a service-based economy. It also transformed a theoretical based knowledge into a technological based experience based on smart machines, and thus, the global Civilization continues to emerge and evolve following the technological evolution as well as the economic trends. Consequently, such an evolution affected the global elite’s orientations who transformed from a colonial minded elite to a technological, information-minded elite [1].

Other scholars attributed global Civilization’s evolution to the Internet, which induced the globalization waves to transform societies into a globalized society. Nonetheless, the contemporary global society Consists of many sub-societies whereby many are virtual. In this context, Muzaffari argued that the Internet was the precursor for the creation of a “Web Culture,” bringing together individuals from various “conventional cultures” to share new common terminology, rules, and principles [2]. Furthermore, Castells claimed that the Internet processed a kind of “individuation” due to the decline of the community’s physical dimensions and ascription. Nonetheless, Castells emphasized that “individualism” did not isolate individuals. On the contrary, he demonstrated that “individualism” gave birth to a new social construction based on individuals’ quest for like-minded people who shared the same values, agendas, philosophies, and interests [3], among which space was consecrated a considerable part.

In the cradle of the new global societal construct, network technologies have brought together individuals from different parts of the world around their shared interest in space exploration, which has become an indivisible part of the Global Civilization’s culture. In fact, from time immemorial, humankind has been inspired by space as he looked up to the “heavens” and questioned his place in the universe. Furthermore, when addressing the critical space’s impact on the global cultural and intellectual life, Stephen Hawking argued that narrowing the human’s attention to “terrestrial” issues would limit the human spirit [4].

History also demonstrates that humankind’s interest in space is not a new phenomenon [5]. By nature, man pursues his endeavors to explore new dawns, despite the motives propelling his risky ventures that evolved with his evolution [6]. Ignited by Yuri Gagarin’s spacewalk and Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon, human prospects on space travel have unleashed unlimited possibilities on the humankind’s expansion beyond the Earth’s boundaries.

Thus, space has not only impacted the global culture. It created a shift from a mere inspirational driver and curiosity feeder on existential questions to a space race by which the quest of human expansion beyond what was previously called the “last frontier” is closer than imagined. A paradigm shift gave birth to new space endeavors. Thus, from being contained in the hands of the United States and the former Soviet Union, space exploration has witnessed an unprecedented transformation. Consequently, a fierce race is evolving in which new actors have become active participants [7].

Therefore, the inspirational culture ignited around space, in the cradle of the new global civilization, induced humankind to realize further complex developments in the space field. The gradual proliferation of space activities in communication, technological and scientific research, defense and intelligence, surveillance, command, and control, grew to revolutionize man’s intervention into the space dominion [8]. “New Space” has transformed space from what was once called “The Last Frontier” into “The New Frontier,” where an unprecedented business-driven dynamic of a global space sector emerged to form what economists called a “New Space Ecosystem” [9].

As a consequence of the “New space” race, humankind’s exploration and use of space have been taken to a new level, and thus, the global space sector contributed to the socio-economic development addressed by the author in various articles and conferences.

Note: The use of the above pictures falls under the scope of “fair use” doctrine.

References

[1] Targowski, Andrew From Globalization Waves To Global Civilization, Comparative Civilizations Review (CCR) 70:70 (2014):73–89. <https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/ccr/vol70/iss70/7>. (Accessed on February 27, 2020).

[2] Mozaffari, Mehdi, Civilization, And Globalization In A World Of Turmoil, Glocalism: Journal Of Culture, Politics And Innovation (JCPI) (2019):1–12, p 10. DOI: 10.12893/gjcpi.2019.1.5

<https://glocalismjournal.org>. (Accessed on February 27, 2020).

[3] Castells, Manuel. 2014. « The Impact Of The Internet On Society: A Global Perspective.» In Change: 19 Key Essays On How The Internet Is Changing Our Lives. 2014: BBVA’s annual series. Sixth Edition: at 127.

[4] Hawking, Stephen « Foreword to The Physics of Star Trek.» In Lawrence M. Krauss, ed., The Physics of Star Trek. 2007: Basic Books.

[5] Cousins, Norman, Philip Morrison, James Michener, Jacques Cousteau, Ray Bradbury, Why Man Explores, California Institute of Technology Symposium, Pasadena, July 2, 1976, California, NASA Educational Publication 123, Government Printing Office: Washington D. C., 1977.

[6] Patenaude, Monique, What Drives Humans To The Unknown?, Stewart Weaver Surveys Exploration Through the Ages, University of Rochester, 2015. <https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/journeys-into-the-unknown-91212/>. (Accessed on February 29, 2020, 2020).

[7] Bockel, Jean Marie, The Future of The Space Industry, General Report of the Economic and Security Committee, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO Parliamentary Assembly, NATO Publishing, NATO, 2018, p 1.

[8] Jean Marie Bockel, The Future of The Space Industry, General Report of the Economic and Security Committee, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO Parliamentary Assembly, NATO Publishing, NATO, 2018, p 1.

[9] Iacomino, Clelia, Commercial Space Exploration: Potential Contributions of Private Actors to Space Exploration Programs, European Space Policy Springer Briefs in Applied Sciences and Technology Series, Vienna, 2019, Springer, p 3.

“Eventually, as the kinks are worked out, quantum machines will have a wide impact from scientific research to business. But there’s another area that could benefit from their problem-solving prowess too: Social impact.”

Read more

Philosophers have been debating the meaning of life for millennia. Billions of people believe that the principal aim in life is to experience pleasure, and they try to enjoy life as much as possible before they die. A minority of others, make it their life’s aim to achieve something which is over and above simple pleasure: not merely to help others, not even to help humanity at large. They aim, whether knowingly or unknowingly, to improve the evolutionary process of nature as a whole.

So far, so good. But it appears that the view we hold about our life, our worldview, has a direct impact on our biology. We know that thinking positively may help improve the immune system. But research also shows that people who aim for pleasure (Hedonia) may have an impaired genetic profile, compared to those who aim for higher virtues (Eudaimonia). There is a distinction between these two terms and it is worth providing a definition here:

Hedonia is an exclusive search for pleasure and avoidance of discomfort. It may involve increased emphasis on eating well, drinking, dancing, playing, and generally enjoying simple pleasures in life. It is contentment, gratification, fun, merriment, satisfaction and, perhaps necessarily, a lack of motivation to search for a nobler aim in life. One may argue that hedonia involves a risk that leads to bad health due to a tendency to excesses (smoking, alcohol, coffee, sweets), a general inclination to avoid uncomfortable physical activity, and a lack of challenging cognitive effort. The risk of addiction may be increased. Erosion of social bonds become a possibility when a hedonist is more concerned about his/her own pleasure and is less sensitive to the needs of others.

Eudaimonia is a term reflecting the highest ‘intellectual good’. It is virtue plus excellence, superior ethical refinement, cognitive sophistication, as well as other qualities such as persistent motivation, wisdom, imagination, creativity, vision and a feeling of purpose. The term has been discussed by many ancient Greek philosophers particularly Aristotle and the Stoics. In modern times and in a wider sense, eudaimonia may be equated with meaningful technological hyperconnection, or ‘Intentional Evolution’, an attempt to constructively improve the human condition in all respects (including those relating to the wider universe). Hedonia is found both in animals and in humans, whereas eudaimonia is only found in humans.

The above descriptions deliberately avoid the mention of the term ‘happiness’. People may fulfil either hedonic or eudaimonic characteristics and still be happy or unhappy nevertheless. Although hedonia and eudaimonia are distinct concepts, both are philosophical notions of happiness.

It has been suggested that eudaimonic well-being is associated with increased volume of a specific part of our brain, the right insular cortex although it is not known if this increase is the cause or the result of eudaimonia. The insula has been implicated in higher abstract functions such as self-awareness, self-reflection, cognitive control and intentional, creative goal-directed behaviour.

Eudaimonia is influenced by genetic factors and not so much by the environment. In a classic paper, high eudaimonic well-being was associated with a decreased risk of depression, improved physical health, improved sleep patterns, a reduction of inflammation and stress markers, together with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. By contrast, high hedonic well-being was not associated with any of these.

We know that the immune system may have an impact on social behaviour. In a study published yesterday, scientists have shown that a component of the immune system, namely interferon-γ, can control neuronal connectivity in areas of the brain which are implicated in social interactions. This is the new science of Social Genomics, which may help us understand the mechanisms involved in the interaction between our social and emotional self and our biology. Social Genomics study the influence of social factors such as loneliness, stress, conflict, cooperation, and interaction with technology, upon our genetic profile and gene expression. Scientists in social genomics have analysed gene expression in the white blood cells of healthy adults, and showed that those who fulfilled the hedonic criteria exhibited a higher expression of stress-related and inflammation-increasing factors. We know that stress and inflammation are implicated in ageing. In contrast, those people who fulfilled primarily the eudaimonic characteristics showed the opposite genetic features, namely a down-regulation of inflammatory markers and an improvement of certain immune factors. These findings were confirmed again. Although both hedonia and eudaimonia may contribute to a feeling of subjective well-being, it appears that eudaimonia is associated with a measurable health effect which is defined by objective genetic and biological characteristics.

This begs the question: Does ageing and early death have something to do with hedonism? And at the same time, is the pursuit of eudaimonia one of the prerequisites for long, healthy life? I addressed this issue from different perspectives in a blog and a paper. Over the past years I have argued that being meaningfully hyperconnected and searching for a nobler aim in life are characteristics associated with longevity (because such characteristics increase the information content of the individual and may improve cellular repair – the Indispensable Soma hypothesis).

Evolution tends to follow a trajectory defined by survival and, in the case of humans, it is biased towards achieving a higher common good, a stage which is better than the previous one. If this is the case, there should be conserved signalling pathways and other biological mechanisms which favour a continuation of survival AND the ability to contribute to the universal good. Merely seeking pleasure is seen, from an evolutionary perspective, as just surviving without the need to achieve anything higher. Thus, hedonia appears to be in conflict with the basic trajectory of evolution. In addition, there is another puzzling question: Why is eudaimonia found only in humans and not in other animals? If eudaimonia is a pathway that leads to an improvement in the human condition we may need to espouse it fully, in order to improve ourselves and achieve longer life as a result. In fact, it could be the ONLY path towards achieving extreme longevity. Waiting for others to come up with pills and treatments to ‘cure’ ageing, is just…hedonic, it reflects an avoidance of effort and unwillingness to deal with the matter ourselves.

So, here is a concept for debate: People who live within a cognitive ecosystem and actively pursue eudaimonic characteristics are likely to enjoy better health, and have increased chances of living longer, compared to those who merely seek personal pleasure. This makes sense from clinical, biological, evolutionary and philosophical standpoints.

Human civilization has always been a virtual reality. At the onset of culture, which was propagated through the proto-media of cave painting, the talking drum, music, fetish art making, oral tradition and the like, Homo sapiens began a march into cultural virtual realities, a march that would span the entirety of the human enterprise. We don’t often think of cultures as virtual realities, but there is no more apt descriptor for our widely diverse sociological organizations and interpretations than the metaphor of the “virtual reality.” Indeed, the virtual reality metaphor encompasses the complete human project.

Figure 2

Virtual Reality researchers, Jim Blascovich and Jeremy Bailenson, write in their book Infinite Reality; “[Cave art] is likely the first animation technology”, where it provided an early means of what they refer to as “virtual travel”. You are in the cave, but the media in that cave, the dynamic-drawn, fire-illuminated art, represents the plains and animals outside—a completely different environment, one facing entirely the opposite direction, beyond the mouth of the cave. When surrounded by cave art, alive with movement from flickering torches, you are at once inside the cave itself whilst the media experience surrounding you encourages you to indulge in fantasy, and to mentally simulate an entirely different environment. Blascovich and Bailenson suggest that in terms of the evolution of media technology, this was the very first immersive VR. Both the room and helmet-sized VRs used in the present day are but a sophistication of this original form of media VR tech.

Read entire essay here

Visit ClubOfINFO

- @ClubOfINFO — Rather than location, education or privilege, having something to offer seems to now be the only determining factor for a writer or activist to be published and gain a voice internationally.

As a student, I initially chose postgraduate study as a route to publishing nonfiction and becoming a political scientist, but I never accessed the necessary funding to start this. After graduating from Lancaster University in 2012 and not being able to become the academic I wanted to be, I have found that postgraduate study is unnecessary to become a nonfiction author or even a political theorist.
There are many alternative media options, especially thanks to the internet. So, since March 2013, I have had work published in well over 40 different publications and the number is growing.
Rather than being a cheap alternative, publishing in online magazines is actually a more effective way of gaining recognition and a strong publishing history than academic publishing. It also takes less time and effort, and you achieve more rewards along the way. As such, the internet has truly overcome the need for educated elites in the old-fashioned sense, since anyone with sufficient knowledge and background is now positioned to gain recognition and have their say.
For some months now, I have been a member of the Lifeboat Foundation. This US-based scientific think tank includes many eminent futurists, including Google’s Ray Kurzweil, and is a credible and influential source of much revolutionary thinking about science, technology and politics. I got invited to this think tank and I continue to contribute to it, despite that I live in the UK and have never travelled to the United States.
Because I have also been writing science fiction for years, my futurist publishing success has provided a valuable means of exploring and attracting interest to ideas I might use in that fiction. It serves to add to the conversation on science and technology, if sci-fi authors can write works with powerful and relevant themes. The link between science fiction, scientific discovery and engineering is far greater than many predict, making artistic or cultural perspectives valuable for influencing science and ethics.
My interest is drawn mainly to what I call the crossroads of politics and technology. Part of this interest comes down to the fact that alternate media is transforming politics, aided by the internet, and this has been instrumental in my own success. This very same interest has led me to launch ClubOfINFO (clubof.info), a new biweekly webzine I am editing from Wigan. This publication occupies a niche for offbeat politics and science articles, activism-savvy product recommendations and sci-fi eBook downloads. I highly recommend a visit to this publication, and subscription is free (follow on Twitter @ClubOfINFO).
Much like the World Wide Web, I believe we can expect many other highly democratic world-changing technologies, and they are set to fundamentally change society. These have been of greatest interest to me, and I have written on what I consider to be the most socially and politically significant technologies. Contributing to the futurist h+ Magazine and the progressive Institute for Emerging Technologies think tank, I have put forward articles praising the potential social and political revolutions resulting from advances in 3D printing, synthetic biology, nanotechnology and other key developments.
Among the work I have published are some of the best in-depth reviews available for consequential books, such as Julian Assange’s Cypherpunks. In this book, Assange eerily predicts a bleak future of “total surveillance” even speaking prior to the shocking revelations of warrantless email and phone interception from whistle-blower Edward Snowden. However, he also acknowledges the possibility of a more favourable outcome: the emergence of a “rebel elite”, a tech-savvy global society of activists and experts who know how to restrain and counter the might of governments bent on using technology for repression and domestic spying. Assange’s book is exactly the kind of work that stimulates the discussion that should be happening all over the world, addressing how exponentially improving technology and the democratization of that technology can empower common citizens against their governments. It is the essence of the crossroads of politics and technology.
My own view of where to go on the crossroads of politics and technology is not important, but I am dedicated to exploring possibilities. Increasingly, users improvise new uses for technology that were not thought of or conceived by the designers themselves. The more rapidly our technology evolves, as depicted repeatedly in trends celebrated by futurists, the less control monolithic companies and governments have over how it will ultimately be used. Depending on your point of view, this may be either worrying or exhilarating. In the grand scheme of things, it cannot be stopped, and people should instead be thinking about how society can adapt to the inevitable change.
It is possible to build a community of internet-based thinkers and activists who are not intellectual snobs, but who have online publishing and political credentials, are trusted by their readers and taken seriously by their opponents. I encourage writers at every level of society to be bold in tackling political subjects and talking about how new science and technology can alter politics or the whole future of civilization. This is the goal I hope to promote with projects such as ClubOfINFO, and it is fully in line with the activities of tens of influential similar publications like h+ Magazine.

For people who believe they have something decisive to offer to futurist discussions about where technology is carrying society and the state, there is no reason to defer to academics and self-proclaimed experts. Everyone’s interests should be taken into consideration, and all should take part in what should be the most democratic explosion in history.

By Harry J. Bentham — More articles by Harry J. Bentham

Like this radical modern perspective? Subscribe to the ClubOfINFO feed.