James Hughes

James J. Hughes Ph.D. is a sociologist and bioethicist teaching health policy at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.cite web | last = Ford | first = Alyssa | authorlink = | title = Humanity: The Remix | work = Utne Magazine | publisher = | date = May / June 2005 | url = http://www.twliterary.com/jhughes_utne.html | accessdate = 2007-03-03] cite paper| author = Sirius, R. U.| title = "NeoFiles", Vol. 1, No. 9: Transhumanism's Left Hand Man| date = 2005 | url = http://www.life-enhancement.com/NeoFiles/default.asp?ID=44 | accessdate=2006-08-11]

Hughes holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of Chicago, where he served as the assistant director of research for the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. Before graduate school he was temporarily ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1984 while working as a volunteer in Sri Lanka for the development organization Sarvodaya from 1983 to 1985. Hughes served as the executive director of the World Transhumanist Association from 2004 to 2006, and currently serves as the executive director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. He also produces the syndicated weekly public affairs radio talk show program "Changesurfer Radio" and contributes to the "Cyborg Democracy" blog. [cite website|title=Changesurfer Radio with Dr. J|url=http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/csr] [cite website|title=Cyborg Democracy|url=http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/cybdem/blogger.html] Hughes' book "Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future" was published by Westview Press in November 2004.cite book| author = Hughes, James| title = Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future| publisher = Westview Press| year = 2004| id = ISBN 0-8133-4198-1]

Rejecting the two extremes of bioconservatism and libertarian transhumanism, Hughes argues for a third way, "democratic transhumanism," a radical form of techno-progressivism which asserts that the best possible "posthuman future" is achievable only by ensuring that human enhancement technologies are safe, make them available to everyone, and respect the right of individuals to control their own bodies.cite paper| author = Hughes, James| title = Democratic Transhumanism 2.0| date = 2002 | url = http://www.changesurfer.com/Acad/DemocraticTranshumanism.htm| accessdate=2006-08-11] The term "radical", which appears several times in Hughes' work, (from Latin "rādīx, rādīc-", root) is used as an adjective meaning "of or pertaining to the root" or "going to the root". His central thesis is that emerging technologies and radical democracy can help citizens overcome some of the "root causes" of inequalities of power.

Quote

Works

*Hughes, James (1996). " [http://www.changesurfer.com/Hlth/Genetech.html Embracing Change with All Four Arms: A Post-Humanist Defense of Genetic Engineering] ". "Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics" 6(4), 94-101
*Hughes, James (2002). " [http://www.changesurfer.com/Acad/TranshumPolitics.htm Politics of Transhumanism] ". 2001 Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science
*Hughes, James (2002). " [http://www.changesurfer.com/Acad/DemocraticTranshumanism.htm Democratic Transhumanism 2.0] ". [http://transhumanism.org/index.php/WTA/th/ Transhumanity] blog
* Hughes, James (2002-2004). [http://archives.betterhumans.com/Columns/tabid/60/Columnist/James%20Hughes/Default.aspx Changesurfing] Archived Betterhumans column
* Hughes, James (2004). "Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future". Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-4198-1

References

Mentions

James Hughes or one of his works is mentioned in the following articles:

*Cryonics
*"Gattaca" argument
*Gattaca Reception
*Human exceptionalism
*Nanosocialism
*Nick Bostrom
*Reprogenetics
*Techno-progressivism
*Techno-utopia
*Techno-utopianism
*Technogaianism
*Technosexual
*Viridian design movement
*Wisdom of repugnance

External links

* [http://changesurfer.com/ Changesurfer Consulting] , a web portal to James Hughes' projects
* [http://ieet.org/ Institute of Ethics and Emerging Technologies]