Zoltan Istvan’s transhumanism is convoluted. It’s helping the cause.



All publicity is good publicity.

That maxim couldn’t be truer when it comes to transhumanism’s crossover with the presidential campaign cycle.

So thank you, Zoltan Istvan, wrong as you are.

Transhumanism is about overcoming mortality through science and technology. Istvan started the Transhumanist Party USA and is running for president on the platform.

Istvan’s positions are quite off-base. But they’ve been all over the news.

As Lincoln Cannon, a leading advocate of transhumanism, wrote, Istvan’s party "cowers under authoritarian control, so long as it denies the diversity of Transhumanist values, and so long as it mongers unnecessary hostility toward others."

The Transhumanist Declaration reads that "policy making ought to be guided by responsible and inclusive moral vision, taking seriously both opportunities and risks, respecting autonomy and individual rights, and showing solidarity with and concern for the interests and dignity of all people around the globe."

"The positions and actions of Zoltan Istvan and his political party are not consistent with the Transhumanist Declaration," Cannon wrote. "They are not inclusive. They do not show solidarity with or concern for the interests and dignity of all."

All of this is true.

But we must consider the publicity of a critical set of ideas through a political candidate and/or his platform that wasn’t always right.

Consider even the most recent presidential campaign cycle.

Federal overreach through Rand Paul. Race issues through Barack Obama. Mormonism through Mitt Romney.

Publicity means an increase in knowledge of the message. The message is assessed more. If the message is good, it nourishes souls (Alma 32). And the message's true definition is better understood.

There’s nothing more important than that – we’re that much closer to Zion.

Fortunately, journalists also apparently (if not unknowingly) think so. Because of Istvan, consider the media where collectively millions upon millions of consumers have at least heard about transhumanism:

The New York Times. The Huffington Post. CNN. BBC. Fox News. Yahoo! News. Newsweek. The Daily Beast. National Geographic. And many more.

Yes, Istvan and his platform are misconstruing transhumanism. But as Oscar Wilde said: "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about. And that it not being talked about."