Michael LaTorra, M.A.

In the article Infinite Self-Worth, Michael LaTorra said “In my opinion, there are at least two significant issues here, one of personal growth and the other about the nature of identity. Regarding the latter, I have generally avoided participating in discussions of identity because I am one of those people who accept the Buddhist claim that there is no self, or irreducible entity, soul or whatever you want to call it. I share this belief with psychologist Susan Blackmore, who is a skeptic, author of the excellent book ‘The Meme Machine’ and also a Zen Buddhist. Yet at the same time, I do not deny that ‘I’ exist in some form, or as some form, and I want to continue indefinitely. But I don’t want to continue forever *unchanged*. I want to grow, improve, become much more than I am now.”
 
Michael LaTorra, M.A. has long been concerned with advancing and safeguarding both the material, scientific achievements, and the spiritual, cultural aspects of human civilization. He is an active transhumanist and is on the Board of Directors of the World Transhumanist Association and the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, and is President of Zen Center of Las Cruces. In 2000, he signed up for cryonics with the Alcor Life Extension Foundation. He joined the Society for Universal Immortalism thereafter. Since 2004, he has been an ordained Zen Buddhist priest.
 
After 15 years working as a technical writer in industry, Mike became a college professor in the English Department of New Mexico State University where he teaches Technical Communication courses. His 1993 book A Warrior Blends With Life: A Modern Tao is the only book on spirituality from that time to mention nanotechnology.
 
He earned a BA in General Studies, with a concentration in Russian language and history, New College of Florida, Sarasota, FL, and a MA in Technical and Professional Communication, NMSU, Las Cruces, NM.
 
Watch Mike in the Exploring Life Extension Google video!