Please see my introduction into this series on the Extropian Principles for context. As before, unless otherwise noted, I’m sharing my own feelings and interpretations of the Extropian Principles which may differ substantially from the original author’s. I also want to reiterate that I do not consider myself to be a model Extropian at all. Extropianism is a key to my own personal philosophies, but like most worthy philosophies, it’s very difficult to fully follow.

Most of us have grown up on a steady diet of very pessimistic dystopian science fiction for entertainment, and in an era of international terrorism, threats of catastrophic bird flu pandemics and chaotic climate change, it’s very easy to fall into the rabbit hole of negative thinking about the future. The Extropian rejects such pessimism since it is irrelevant and counterproductive to the goals of transhumanism.

Practical Optimism is the third Extropian Principle. Dr More defines it this way: “Extropy means fueling action with positive expectations — individuals and organizations being tirelessly proactive. Adopting a rational, action-based optimism or “proaction”, in place of both blind faith and stagnant pessimism.”

An Extropian has adopted the philosophy because she fully expects to see the goals of Transhumanism realized. Her efforts supporting technological progress and science are based on an expectation that they will aid in the uplift and transformation of humanity. Her own personal efforts at transforming herself are also driven by the same expectation.

This Principle is more personal to me than the others because it was the one which first attracted me to Extropianism. Back then, I think it was called “Rational Optimism” which really appealed to me. The argument was that if you look objectively at the progress of humanity, you can see that things have absolutely improved for humanity over the course of recorded history and every indication is that this trend will continue. Also, this improvement trend is accelerating exponentially along with a similar trend in technological progress..

You can really only be pessimistic about the future of humanity if you ignore the basic facts and focus instead on over-exaggerated and/or imaginary threats. It constantly amazes me how many people conversing on the internet are so incredibly pessimistic, and often about things which have no actual objective basis. Here they are, using this incredible, amazing technology which unites humanity in a way never before even imagined, and they see nothing but doom and gloom.

Pessimism is a dead end way of looking at the world. If humanity’s future is doomed, then there’s no point in working to improve humanity. The best that a true pessimist can do is to attempt to improve himself without regard for others since they’re a lost cause after all. This is anathema to basic Humanism, much less Extropianism.

Eventually, “Rational Optimism” was renamed to “Practical Optimism” placing more emphasis on being proactive, which is one of the key aspects of Extropianism. Dr. More didn’t remove the focus on a rational approach to optimism, but he did remind us that action is required to achieve the goals of Transhumanism. Positive action absolutely requires an optimistic view of the future.

Every other Extropian principle is driven by this practical optimism. Extropians know that it’s definitely possible to uplift themselves and all of humanity with the practical applied use of technology and science. Without this positive view of a possible future, there’s no point in applying any of the other principles.

Being proactive is also a reminder not to embrace a Utopian, rosy-cheeked dogmatic view of an inevitable Singularity in which we all magically become Posthuman. The Extropian doesn’t sit around waiting on this to happen; she works hard to ensure it.