Transhumanists Disavow Zoltan Istvan Candidacy for US Presidency

Transhumanism is arriving in many flavors. Zoltan seems to want to be a gatekeeper - administering litmus tests to determine who can be a Transhumanist. A bad idea that is not going to work.

Transhumanism should be inclusive of various faiths and not seek to alienate anyone working to improve themselves and humanity.

I do not support Zoltan's position, and his understanding of politics is both dangerously ignorant, and dangerously egocentric. Like most Conservatives, Reactionaries, and modern/contemporary Libertarians, he manages to start from a True Premise or statement, and then leap to a wildly False Conclusion. Or he builds Valid, yet wildly unsound Arguments from the very beginning. He is aggrandizing, and self-promoting at the expense of others, and draws the WRONG kind of attention to Transhumanism, making it looks like something akin to Alex Jones or Rush Limbaugh than a carefully considered movement that accepts the Reality of our world as a starting point, and then works from there towards an acceptable solution.

The Nevada Transhumanist Party supports the candidacy of Zoltan Istvan all the way. We encourage all transhumanists to acknowledge his tremendous contributions in increasing the profile of transhumanist ideas and getting them seriously discussed in mainstream circles. This petition is counterproductive, as it undermines the efforts of a dedicated, intelligent, and extremely productive advocate of emerging technologies. It sets back the prospects of transhumanism to sit on the sidelines and denounce Zoltan, while he is actually out there doing something to increase the profile of transhumanist ideas and get them seriously discussed in mainstream circles. Are we going to disavow anyone who does not exactly follow our preferred ideological nuances (which will vary by individual), or are we actually going to take constructive action to realize the future we want to see? Or is the transhumanist movement going to become a case, satirized in Monty Python’s “Life of Brian” of unending denunciations between “The Judean People’s Front” and “The People’s Front of Judea”?

Hi Justin. If you support his candidacy, you may want to remove your name from this petition, which disavows his candidacy.

I support Zoltan Istvan's Candidacy for US President. Revealed religions are a destructive poison. Technology, science, and ethically guided evolution is our species' only hope.

I am Gadget Dan and I support the real transhumanism that is pro-technology to improve the human condition. GadgetDan.net

Thank you for your assistance.

The Transhumanist Party has issues. I have hope that the Nevada State level Transhumanist Party can pull things together at some point. Zoltan Istvan is not a bad person, his direction is flawed.

For diversity and inclusive leadership !

Not that good a publicist either. That bus is P.T. Barnum buffoonery of the worst kind. A horrible idea... executed even worse. And astroturfing a community... is not done. Any publicist worth their salt knows this.

I am futute, I am past..

My concerns are not of his anti-religious rhetoric, but his systemic bigotry.

Zoltan is a poor Transhumanist, but an excellent publicist. I hope he has little to do with the movement from here on, so he cannot damage it further.

While I think Zoltan is an interesting character, I don't think he represents most transhumanists values well. There needs to be a better balance between a) spotlight grabbing/publicity stunts/self promotion b) compassionate inclusivity and c) due diligence in representing the public perception of transhumanism in a prudent and respectful manner. IMO Zoltan doesn't seem to listen enough or want to act as a participant but instead seems to want to use transhumanism as a vehicle for self-aggrandizement.

Without a converging vision a nation will perish, says Proverbs. Zoltan alienated 80% of the nation right off the bat.

1. Zoltan Istvan's publicly stated desire to make it illegal for parents to teach religion to their children is (a) highly uncharacteristic of American Transhumanists generally, (b) impinges on the rights of parents as upheld by at least 30 centuries of human tradition, and (c) violates both the establishment clause and the free exercise clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. 2. The Transhumanist Part USA apparently only involves a small fraction of U.S. Transhumanists. It's platform was not set by any major convention.

Transhumanism should be a means to improve lives and provide abundance. It needs to be inclusive and respectful of even those who would reject Transhumanist technology.

For the betterment of humanity, not to cram our fellow beings into cookie cutters but to open space for them to become compassionate creators.

No political party can be legitimate unless it fairly represents the full diversity of its constituents.