Abolitionism (bioethics) - Philosophy

Philosophy

In this context, Abolitionism (in the context of abolishing many forms of suffering, not to be confused with the anti-slavery movement that sought to abolish slavery of the same name) is inspired by Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarian ethic, principally by the tenets of negative utilitarianism. Some Abolitionists consider the elimination of genetic discrimination to be a vital component of Abolitionism in the larger sense, and intend to eliminate suffering in all sentient species, considering it a cruel side effect of natural selection. Most abolitionists would be classified as negative utilitarian, believing that suffering of any kind, no matter how small, should be prevented. Philosopher David Pearce’s abolitionist manifesto, “The Hedonistic Imperative”, serves as both an inspiration for the group’s theories and as a demonstration of how the world can convert Abolitionist philosophy into reality.

To many people surveyed, achieving the highest level of happiness possible is the most important aspect and primary goal of their lives. Many people think that money will make them happier, but this has not been found to be the case in scientific studies. 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. Humans have been found in studies to achieve a “baseline happiness,” 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, 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.

According to evolutionary theory, humans evolved through natural selection and follow genetic imperatives that seek to maximize reproduction, not happiness. As a result of these selection pressures, the extent of human happiness is limited biologically. Through advanced scientific research, especially in the fields of neuroscience, biotechnology, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and psychopharmacology, Pearce theorizes in his manifesto that humans can overcome their genetic 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 feel better only by attacking the physical root of the depression (e.g. by taking an antidepressant that changes serotonin re-uptake levels in the brain). Generalizing from this scenario, abolitionists see the very possibility of suffering as an undesirable aspect of humanity, and believe humans can and should re-engineer the brain to achieve invincible, lifelong super-happiness. Some hope that this could be accomplished not only through technology already in the pipeline, such as genetic engineering, but also through techniques that have not yet been realized such as mind uploading.

Abolitionism requires as a premise that emotions have a physically manipulable, not spiritual, source, such that by altering the human brain we can fundamentally change the way that humans experience life. Abolitionists believe that where biological evolution has failed to create happiness for all people, technology can take over and eventually create a new type of posthuman that feels only happiness and never suffers involuntarily while retaining and possibly enhancing its external functionality. The Abolitionist Society is dedicated to bringing this idea to fruition.