Ron Garland

I was immediately attracted to the title of this book because I'm sympathetic to both transhumanism and zen buddhism. I found his conclusions, for the most part, agreeable and inline with my worldview, and though I found little to argue with among the content, I was disappointed in the style and quality of the writing. I was expecting irreverent witticism and biting satire, but what I got was dull legalese in between pages of quotations.

The most enjoyable discussion comes towards the end of the book when the author elucidates a refreshing take on death and immortality that is all too rare within transhumanist circles these days. He makes an important point to distinguish between transhumanism and immortalism, that one can be spiritually mature enough to not fear death, to not need to desperately cling on to impermanent illusions of one's self through cryonics, and yet still be on-board with realizing the unlimited potentials of a transhumanist future. The author's Zen background definitely shines through in this particular section, and resonates with my views completely. In my opinion, he should have made the entire book about this one issue, about reconciling the impermanence and illusory nature of our self-identities with transhumanist notions of progress.… (plus d'informations)