David Pearce (philosopher)

David Pearce
Pearce in 2013
BornApril 1959 (age 65)
Alma materBrasenose College, Oxford[1]
OrganisationHumanity+
Known forThe Hedonistic Imperative (1995)
MovementTranshumanism, veganism
Websitewww.hedweb.com

David Pearce (born April 1959)[2] is a British transhumanist philosopher.[3][4][5] He is the co-founder of the World Transhumanist Association, currently rebranded and incorporated as Humanity+.[6][7] Pearce approaches ethical issues from a lexical negative utilitarian perspective.[8]

Based in Brighton, England, Pearce maintains a series of websites devoted to transhumanist topics and what he calls the "hedonistic imperative", a moral obligation to work towards the abolition of suffering in all sentient life.[9][10] His self-published internet manifesto, The Hedonistic Imperative (1995), outlines how pharmacology, genetic engineering, nanotechnology and neurosurgery could converge to eliminate all forms of unpleasant experience from human and non-human life, replacing suffering with "information-sensitive gradients of bliss".[11][12] Pearce calls this the "abolitionist project".[13]

  1. ^ "Notable Alumni - Brasenose College, Oxford". Brasenose College, Oxford. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  2. ^ "David PEARCE". Companies House. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  3. ^ Keulartz, Jozef (2016). "Should the Lion Eat Straw Like the Ox? Animal Ethics and the Predation Problem". Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics. 29 (5). SpringerLink: 813–834. Bibcode:2016JAEE...29..813K. doi:10.1007/s10806-016-9637-4. hdl:2066/161423. S2CID 5918938.
  4. ^ Schneider, Susan. "Future Minds: Transhumanism, Cognitive Enhancement and the Nature of Persons". Penn Libraries. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  5. ^ Dobrodum, Olga; Kyvliuk, Olga (29 January 2021). "Transhumanism and Posthumanism: Reflection of the Human Civilization Future" (PDF). Philosophy and Cosmology. 26: 77–89. doi:10.29202/phil-cosm/26/6. S2CID 234292838. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  6. ^ Bostrom, Nick (April 2005). "A history of transhumanist thought" (PDF). Journal of Evolution and Technology. 14 (1). 15–16.
  7. ^ Brey, Philip; Søraker, Johnny Hartz (2009). "Philosophy of Computing and Information Technology", in Anthonie Meijers (ed.). Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Sciences. Elsevier, 1389.
  8. ^ "Negative Utilitarianism FAQ". www.utilitarianism.com. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference philosophy now was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Hauskeller, Michael (January 2010). "Nietzsche, the Overhuman and the Posthuman: A Reply to Stefan Sorgner". Journal of Evolution and Technology. 21(1), 5–8.
  11. ^ Bostrom (2005), 15.
  12. ^ Pearce, David (2012). "The Biointelligence Explosion", in Amnon H. Eden, et al. (eds.). Singularity Hypotheses: A Scientific and Philosophical Assessment. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 199–236.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Thweatt-Bates2016pp50-51 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).