Abolitionism is a school of transhumanism which advocates the eradication of suffering (both human and non-human) through biotechnology. David Pearce is the founder of the movement, and proposes using genetic engineering and other emerging technologies to replace Darwinian suffering-based motivational systems with "gradients of intelligent bliss". In his manifesto The Hedonistic Imperative, he discusses the practicality, philosophical basis, and sociological impact of the abolition of suffering, as well as the possibility of future states of well-being of greater quality than any that have existed so far. Pearce stresses that the abolition of suffering would be compatible with more sophisticated forms of well-being and "intentional objects" (i.e. what you are happy "about"), and need not involve maxed-out wireheading.

In his post Serious Stories, part of The Fun Theory Sequence, Eliezer Yudkowsky argues that removing all forms of suffering would make the world boring, just as a story without conflict is boring. Instead, Yudkowsky proposes to abolish only intolerable suffering, while preserving the ability to experience mild sorrow.

Addressing this type of objection to “paradise engineering”, Pearce writes that, while the prospect of perpetual intelligent bliss may sound unexciting, boredom can be abolished or replaced with its functional analogs that don’t involve aversive qualia. Like any other psychophysical state, boredom can be optional once its biochemical substrates are identified. Pearce also notes that even if human descendants opt into indiscriminate bliss, they will not get bored, for, as intracranial stimulation has evidenced, pure pleasure has no tolerance and “never palls”.

See also

External links

The Hedonistic Imperative
Pearce's talk about abolitionism at the Future of Humanity Institute
Can Biotechnology Abolish Suffering? (free & Amazon), a collection of Pearce's more recent essays
Abolitionism on H+Pedia
David Pearce on abolishing suffering (video)