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Mormon Transhumanists: Lincoln Cannon

Protecting Primitive Civilizations

Many of us perceive a certain morality in allowing primitive humans to live without interaction with the broader human civilization. Some of us even go so far as to work to protect such persons from incursions, including basic communication. The concern, of course, is that interaction with us may hurt them, even if we do not intend harm. There are an estimated 100 uncontacted tribes living around the world. Brazil's National Indian Foundation recently sighted and photographed one of them. Our relation with these persons is among the reasons I often wonder whether there are not advanced civilizations around us, in relation to whom we are generally ignorant and impotent, and on whose benevolence we depend without awareness.
Published Saturday, May 31, 2008 8:43 AM by Lincoln Cannon
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Brent Allsop said:


I think this is fascinating to think about and to really see people in this way.

I also think that anyone that thinks we should avoid all contact and communication with such as obviously immoral and mistaken.

Sure, we should never violate there will, destroy there culture in any way, or anything like that.  But how many of these have completely died out already, that perhaps we could have saved?  Surely if they have children stricken with a fatal disease which we could easily cure, we should at least attempt to communicate information to them such as this…

And if there are any powerful beings out there hiding from us.  I say to them here, now, and in any way possible, that it is my will to save my suffering and dieing friends and family members, and we could use some help with our extreme and still frustrating and primitive efforts with such.

And of course I think it is critical that we ask a lot more people what they think about such important moral questions, in a much more formal way.  We are still so morally primitive, even sick, about all such.  But then, this is probably all just my obviously minority opinion.


Brent Allsop
May 31, 2008 8:33 PM
 

Joey said:

Brent wrote: "I also think that anyone that thinks we should avoid all contact and communication with such as obviously immoral and mistaken."

It's not obvious, Brent. If it were obvious then everyone would agree with you. You recognize that many do not agree with you. So how can you not recognize that the answer to the question is not obvious?
June 2, 2008 12:11 AM

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About Lincoln Cannon

Lincoln is a founding member, director and president of the Mormon Transhumanist Association. He has thirteen years of professional experience in information technology, working primarily for companies in the systems management industry, such as Symantec and Novell. He holds a masters degree in business administration and a bachelors degree in philosophy from Brigham Young University. Lincoln served a mission to France for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is married with Dorothée Vankrieckenge, a French national, and is father to three bilingual children.

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