Max More: revision 1 to 2 — Future Human Wiki

Revision 1

Revision 2

categories: ["people"]

tags: ["transhumanism", "extropianism", "cryonics", "philosophy", "proactionary principle"]

summary: "British-American philosopher who founded extropianism, wrote the principles that gave transhumanism its first organized programme, and led Alcor from 2011 to 2020."

summary: "British-American philosopher who founded extropianism, wrote the principles that gave transhumanism its first organized programme, and led Alcor from 2011 to 2020."

updated: "2026-07-27"

updated: "2026-10-29"

issues: ["The claims about who took part in the extropian mailing list carry no source."]

---

{ "label": "Born as", "value": "Max T. O'Connor" },

{ "label": "Education", "value": "Oxford (PPE); PhD, USC, 2010" },

{ "label": "Known for", "value": "Principles of Extropy", "link": "/wiki/extropianism" },

{ "label": "Founded", "value": "Extropy Institute (1992–2006)" },

{ "label": "Founded", "value": "Extropy Institute (1992-2006)" },

{ "label": "Role", "value": "CEO of Alcor, 2011–2020", "link": "/wiki/alcor" },

{ "label": "Role", "value": "CEO of Alcor, 2011-2020", "link": "/wiki/alcor" },

{ "label": "Spouse", "value": "Natasha Vita-More", "link": "/wiki/natasha-vita-more" }

]

}

```

**Max More** is a British-American philosopher who gave [[transhumanism]] its first systematic

**Max More** is a British-American philosopher who first stated [[transhumanism]] systematically

statement as a philosophy rather than a collection of enthusiasms. His 1990 essay defined the term

as a philosophy rather than a collection of enthusiasms. His 1990 essay defined the term in its

in its modern sense, his Principles of Extropy set out the movement's working commitments, and the

modern sense, his Principles of Extropy set out the movement's working commitments, and the Extropy

Extropy Institute and its mailing list served as the organizing node for early transhumanist thought.

Institute and its mailing list were the organizing node for early transhumanist thought. From 2011

From 2011 to 2020 he was chief executive of the [[alcor|Alcor Life Extension Foundation]].

to 2020 he was chief executive of the [[alcor|Alcor Life Extension Foundation]].

## Career

Born Max T. O'Connor, he read philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford, where he was involved in

early British cryonics organizing, and moved to the United States for graduate work in philosophy at

the University of Southern California. He changed his surname in 1990, choosing a word that named

the University of Southern California. In 1990 he changed his surname to a word that named what he

what he was arguing for. His doctorate, completed in 2010, was on the nature of death and the

was arguing for. His doctorate, completed in 2010, was on the nature of death and the conditions for

conditions for personal survival — the philosophical question underneath the practice he would

personal survival, the philosophical question beneath the practice he would later run as a

later run as a business. See [[personal-identity-and-continuity]].

business. See [[personal-identity-and-continuity]].

With Tom W. Bell he founded the magazine *Extropy* in 1988 and the Extropy Institute in 1992. The

institute ran conferences through the 1990s and closed in 2006, More's stated reason being that its

institute ran conferences through the 1990s and closed in 2006. More's stated reason was that its

ideas had propagated into enough other organizations that a dedicated body was no longer needed. He

co-edited *The Transhumanist Reader* (2013) with [[natasha-vita-more]], to whom he is married.

## The Principles of Extropy

"Extropy" is not a physical quantity; More used it as a name for the opposite tendency to entropy —

More used "extropy" as a name for the tendency opposite to entropy: growth in order, capacity and

growth in order, capacity and intelligence — and explicitly warned against treating it as a

intelligence. It is not a physical quantity, and he explicitly warned against treating it as a

scientific term. The principles state a stance rather than a doctrine. The version he published in

2003 lists perpetual progress, self-transformation, practical optimism, intelligent technology, open

society, self-direction and rational thinking.[^principles]

Two features distinguish them from the surrounding futurism. The commitment to open society and

Two of the principles set the list apart from the surrounding futurism. The commitment to open

decentralized decision-making was a deliberate rejection of the technocratic planning that had

society and decentralized decision-making was a deliberate rejection of the technocratic planning

characterized earlier futurist movements. And practical optimism was defined against both

that had characterized earlier futurist movements. Practical optimism was defined against both

pessimism and blind faith: More's formulation asks for optimism as a working method that motivates

action, not as a prediction about outcomes. Later readers frequently miss the distinction.

action, rather than as a prediction about outcomes, and later readers frequently miss the

distinction.

His 1990 essay "Transhumanism: Towards a Futurist Philosophy" separated the transhumanist project

from religion and from technological determinism,[^more1990] framing it as an extension of Enlightenment

from religion and from technological determinism[^more1990] and presented it as an extension of

humanism that declines to treat current human biology as final. "A Letter to Mother Nature" (1999)

Enlightenment humanism that declines to treat current human biology as final. "A Letter to Mother

restates the argument as a list of proposed amendments to the human constitution — to lifespan, to

Nature" (1999) restates the argument as a list of proposed amendments to the human constitution:

the vulnerability of the body, to the limits of cognition and emotional range. It is the clearest

to lifespan, to the vulnerability of the body, and to the limits of cognition and emotional range.

short statement of what [[human-enhancement]] means to its advocates, and of why

It is the clearest short statement of what [[human-enhancement]] means to its advocates, and of why

[[bioconservatism|bioconservatives]] find the framing objectionable.

> [!note] Terminology

> "Extropy" and "extropian" predate "transhumanism" in wide use, and the two were briefly rivals.

> Transhumanism won as the general label; extropianism survives as the name for More's specific

> Transhumanism became the general label; extropianism survives as the name for More's specific,

> libertarian-inflected version of it.

## The proactionary principle

More's most cited contribution to policy argument is the proactionary principle, formulated in 2004

as a counter to the [[precautionary-principle]].[^proactionary] Its core claim is that inaction is

itself a choice with costs, and that any assessment of a technology must weigh the harms of

restriction — including the lives not saved by a delayed therapy — against the harms of proceeding.

restriction (including the lives not saved by a delayed therapy) against the harms of proceeding.

It asks for symmetrical treatment of errors of commission and omission, decisions proportionate to

the evidence, and revision as evidence accumulates.

Critics point out that symmetry is easy to state and hard to apply: the benefits of a new technology

Critics point out that symmetry is easy to state and hard to apply. The benefits of a new technology

accrue to identifiable people while the harms are often diffuse and delayed, and the principle

supplies no method for comparing them. It has nonetheless become the standard reference point for

arguments that precaution is not automatically the conservative option, and it recurs in debates

More became chief executive of Alcor in 2011, taking over an organization with a history of

litigation, internal conflict and public ridicule. His tenure emphasized operational discipline:

standby and stabilization procedures, documentation, financial structures intended to outlast the

organization, and a communications posture that stated the odds rather than promising revival. He

organization, and public communications that stated the odds instead of promising revival. He has

has been consistent that [[cryonics]] is an unproven medical bet with no demonstrated success, that

been consistent that [[cryonics]] is an unproven medical bet with no demonstrated success, that no

no cryopreserved mammal has been revived, and that the case rests on the argument that a preserved

cryopreserved mammal has been revived, and that the case rests on the argument that a preserved

patient is not yet information-theoretically dead rather than on any track record. That framing —

patient is not yet information-theoretically dead, not on any track record. The description of

cryonics as an ambulance to a hospital that may not exist — is largely his. He stepped down as CEO

cryonics as an ambulance to a hospital that may not exist is largely his. He stepped down as CEO in

in 2020 and remained affiliated with the organization.

2020 and remained affiliated with the organization.

## Reception and legacy

The extropian mailing list, running from 1991, was disproportionately consequential relative to its

The extropian mailing list, running from 1991, had an influence out of proportion to its size. Its

size. Its participants included figures who went on to found or shape artificial-intelligence

participants included figures who went on to found or shape artificial-intelligence safety

safety research, digital-currency design and academic futures studies; [[nick-bostrom]] and others

research, digital-currency design and academic futures studies; [[nick-bostrom]] and others were

were active on it before establishing more formal institutions. That heritage is now

active on it before establishing more formal institutions. The archive has since cut both ways:

double-edged, since the list archive has also supplied material used to criticize its participants

decades later it supplied material used to criticize its participants.

decades later.

More's philosophical work is little cited in academic philosophy, which has mostly engaged

transhumanism through Bostrom, [[julian-savulescu]] and their critics rather than through the

extropian texts. Within the movement his standing is different: the principles remain the closest

extropian texts. Within the movement his standing is different. The principles remain the closest

thing transhumanism has to a founding document, and the tension he built into them — between

thing transhumanism has to a founding document, and they contain a tension he built into them,

self-direction and collective risk, between practical optimism and honest accounting of failure — is

between self-direction and collective risk and between practical optimism and an honest accounting

the same tension that divides [[effective-accelerationism]] from AI-safety-oriented

of failure. The same tension divides [[effective-accelerationism]] from AI-safety-oriented

[[singularitarianism]] today. Neither side has resolved it, and More's framework does not tell them

how.