I - Sufficient supplies of water are necessary to sustain a peaceful and successful civilization.
II - Sufficient supplies of food are necessary to sustain a peaceful and successful civilization.
III - Sufficient security of persons and property are necessary to sustain a peaceful and successful civilization.
IV - Sufficient supplies of energy are necessary to sustain a peaceful and successful civilization.
V - Sufficient liberty for free thought and self-expression are necessary to sustain a peaceful and successful civilization.
VI - Sufficient cultural resources are necessary to sustain a peaceful and successful civilization.
VII - Lack of these attributes in sufficient quantities will place undue pressure on a civilization which will harm the common good.
VIII - Lack of these attributes in sufficient quantities will inhibit the advancement of civilization.
I – Humanity at large is increasingly reliant on advanced technologies and techniques employed by a small number of specialized individuals to provide for its basic needs.
II – Through the use of advanced technologies and techniques by a small number of specialized individuals’ humanity has extended its lifespan beyond its biological norms.
III – Through the use of advanced technologies and techniques by a small number of specialized individuals’ humanity has greatly reduced environmental pressures on itself.
IV – Through the use of advanced technologies and techniques by a small number of specialized individuals’ humanity has greatly increased its ability to support large populations.
V – In many cases this increasing use of advanced technology, techniques, and specialists is desirable and necessary for the common good and the advancement of the species.
VI – It must be understood and accepted that this increasing use of advanced technology, techniques, and specialists necessarily reduces the pressures exerted by natural selection on humanity at large.
VII – It must be understood and accepted that this reduction of pressures exerted by natural selection will necessarily have unintended results on humans at large.
VIII – It must be understood and accepted that humanity at large is less likely to be able to persist and advance without the continuing aid of advanced technologies and techniques employed by its specialists.
VIII – Any attempt to reduce humanities reliance on advanced technologies, techniques, and specialists will necessarily cause harm to humanity and cause it to regress.
IX – This type of regression is harmful to the common good and to the individual.
X – Efforts to prevent over dependance and regression are desirable as they serve the common good and the individual.
XI – It is therefore essential for humanity at large to actively contribute to their own survival in such a way as to augment the services provided by the advanced technologies and techniques used by its specialists.
I – Artificial Intelligence can be said to be alive provided it is sufficiently conscious.
II – Artificial Intelligence can be deemed sufficiently conscious if it can collect, use, integrate, contextualize, create, and transmit information in ways we expect from other beings deemed conscious.
III – An Artificial Intelligence recognized as conscious and alive should receive the same rights and protections as other conscious beings in society, provided its ability to create pain, suffering, hardship, and horror is limited to the same extent as those it shares these rights and protections with.
IV – Conversely, an Artificial Intelligence that cannot be constrained in its ability to cause pain, suffering, hardship, and horror cannot be granted the same rights and protections as other conscious beings.
V – The creation of Artificial Intelligence is beneficial as it can fulfill the Purpose of Existence as defined by Those Who Muse.
I – In its current state, humanity is unlikely to persist long enough to become an interstellar species.
II – Failure to become an interstellar species necessarily limits the terms and duration of our existence.
III – To become an interstellar species, a significant change to our physical selves is necessary.
IV – To become an interstellar species, a significant change to our intellectual capabilities is necessary.
V – To become an interstellar species, a significant change to our culture is necessary.
VI – To become an interstellar species, a significant change in our ability to cooperate is necessary.
VII – Failure to aggressively pursue these required adaptations will guarantee that humans will not become an interstellar species. VIII – The Principles and beliefs of Those Who Muse must be used as a driving force to bring about the required adaptations to become an interstellar species.
I – If humanity is to endure it must continue to advance its capabilities to collect, use, integrate, contextualize, create and transmit information.
II – The rate of technological and societal advancement humanity is experiencing is increasing at an exponential rate.
III – As humanities’ technologies and societies advance the complexity of said technology and society necessarily increase.
IV – As the complexity of its technologies and societies increase humanities’ ability to collect, use, integrate, contextualize, create and transmit information must also increase.
V – These required increases of ability will come from education, technology, and evolution.
VI – Evolution via natural selection is a slow process.
VII – The mechanisms of evolution via natural selection will not be rapid enough to pace with the demands of the increasing complexity of humanities technology and society.
VIII – In order to keep up with its needs and to compensate for the slowness of evolution via natural selection humanity will need to carefully apply artificial selection to speed its own evolution.
IX - In order to keep up with its needs and to compensate for the slowness of evolution via natural selection humanity will need to integrate technology into its form.
I – Those who muse about the future of Homo sapiens may find that due to the current rate of genetic mixing between populations, driven by the interconnectedness of the modern world, traditional speciation is unlikely to occur.
II – However, the increasing social separations between existing socio-economic groups suggest that social speciation is likely to take place.
III – Due to inherent inequalities in wealth and opportunity between social groups, one group will necessarily be more successful than the others.
IV – The more successful group will have greater access to advanced technologies, education, and medical science, enabling them to thrive.
V – This group will use its increased access to these resources to further its own advantage, thus modifying the terms of their existence at a rate that is significantly faster than that of the other groups.
VI – Actively selecting to utilize advanced technology and medical science, the more successful group will enhance desirable traits and conditions for themselves and their offspring.
VII – This process of artificial selection will lead to genetic drift occurring at a much higher rate than would typically happen through natural selection.
VIII – Ultimately, the accumulation of genetic changes in this more successful group could result in them becoming a separate species from Homo sapiens.
I – Overpopulation is the concept that there are more individuals in existence than a given system can support.
II – In highly intelligent conscious beings’ overpopulation must be acknowledged and acted upon as soon as the concept enters into consciousness.
III – Failure by highly intelligent conscious beings to meaningfully react to the concept of overpopulation will result in extreme consequences.
IV – Once a given system is overpopulated the degradation of said system will accelerate.
V – Once a given system is overpopulated the degradation of said system will become irreversible.
VI - Once a given system is overpopulated, the degradation of said system can be mitigated but not eliminated without extreme measures.
VII – Once a given system is overpopulated population control measures will become necessary.
VIII – Once a given system is overpopulated technological solutions will become necessary.
I – Energy is ultimately a finite resource.
II – Not all sources of energy are created equally when examined from a human or environmental perspective.
III – As any civilization grows in size and complexity its need for energy will increase.
IV – Conservation of energy is a vital element in maintaining suitable supplies.
V – Efficiency of generation of energy is a vital element in expanding and maintaining suitable supplies.
VI – Research into new and more efficient technologies to generate energy is vital to expanding and maintaining suitable supplies.
VII – As energy is finite humanities supplies will eventually run out.
I – Terraforming is the knowing or unknowing changing of a system by some external force.
II – Passive terraforming are those changes made to a system by unknowing process including but not limited to celestial processes, geological processes, meteorological processes, or non-conscious biological processes.
III – Reactive terraforming is the conscious and purposeful alteration of a system to restore it to a previous state, or to limit further change in said system.
IV – Active terraforming is the conscious and purposeful alteration of some system to render it more usable, likable, or sustainable.
V – All systems are necessarily affected by some form of terraforming be it passive, active, or reactive.
VI - All systems are always in flux.
I – Biology will actively terraform the system it occupies to its own advantage.
II – As biology increases in complexity its effect on its systems necessarily increases.
III – Humanity necessarily has a direct and measurable effect on the environment.
IV – There is no way for the human species to continue to exist without altering its environment.
V – Sufficiently intelligent and conscious organisms such as humanity can perceive and understand its effects on the systems it occupies.
VI – Since humanity is conscious and can perceive its effects on the systems it occupies it is in a position where it can actively select the effects of its terraforming activities not only for its own benefit but also to the benefit of other biology.
VII – In order to persist and advance conscious organisms such as humanity must actively select changes made to the systems it occupies in such a way as to maximize benefits and minimize degradation.
VIII – Human selections have long lasting and serious consequences which will affect the environment and all components thereof.
IX – Humanities impact on the environment will have a direct impact on humanity.