Up-Wingers: Manifeste du Futur

by FM-2030, Thomas Primerano (Translator)

Dans un monde mutant de plus en plus rapidement au fil des découvertes scientifiques et des inventions technologiques transformant l'essence même de l'humain, FM-2030 nous entraîne au coeur de la philosophie transhumaniste, de ses enjeux et de ses espoirs pour l'humanité.

Le philosophe dépeint un monde où les Up-Wingers - ces pionniers audacieux et visionnaires - émergent pour redéfinir le destin de l'homme. Ils embrassent le potentiel infini de la science mise au service de la technique et en assument les risques pour défendre une éthique de l'urgence.

Cités futuristes, sociétés fluides, manipulations biologiques, quête de l'immortalité, FM-2030 nous invite à remettre en question notre vision étriquée de la condition humaine ainsi que de la nature de l'homme.

Up-Wingers est bien plus qu'un simple essai, il est une exhortation à penser un avenir possible où l'humanité s'élèverait vers de nouvelles frontières, défiant les prédictions les plus pessimistes pour conquérir l'inconnu et réaliser la fin de l'homme en devenant Up.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Politics

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

FM-2030 (October 15, 1930 in Brussels – July 8, 2000 in New York) was an author, teacher, transhumanist philosopher, futurist and consultant. FM-2030 was born Fereidoun M. Esfandiary (Persian: فریدون اسفندیاری‎).

He became notable as a transhumanist with the book Are You a Transhuman? Monitoring and Stimulating Your Personal Rate of Growth in a Rapidly Changing World, published in 1989. In addition, he wrote a number of works of fiction under his birth name, F.M. Esfandiary.

The son of an Iranian diplomat, he travelled widely as a child, living in 17 countries by age 11, then, as a young man, he represented Iran as a basketball player in the 1948 Olympic Games and served on the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine from 1952 to 1954.

Reviews

[Fernando Borretti]

Sad how the rhetoric of techno-optimism has not changed in 50 years. Most of the book is very dated, 70s New Age socialist high modernism mixed with transhumanism.

Maybe worth reading if you're into the history of transhumanism.

[Will Hemby]

Fun manifesto of a fascinating progressive. Published in 1973, his ideas on upcoming technological developments and their benefits were remarkably apt. Also pretty spot-on in citing the pitfalls of educational & economic systems, which have largely held true. Where his predictions really miss is in the ability of bureaucratic institutions - he thought technological growth and knowledge would reduce our reliance on bureaucracies (logical), while in fact they’ve just swallowed up any steps towards forward progress. Despite the changes we’ve seen in human and technological ability, systems haven’t caught up. A strange sort of conservatism.

Finally, his biological advancement predictions were a bit overzealous. But hey.. he gets you thinking, for 148 pages at least, about some alternatives outside of the subjugation of thinking strictly in left/right.

[Alec]

Complete insanity

[Wesley Barlow]

FM 2030 certainly has some radical forward thinking ideas that can challenge even the fringes of a futurists comfort zone