# Human Life Is an Intermediate State of Mind in the Universe by Ben Goertzel > “The basic idea of the Transcension is that at some point, the advance of technology will bring about a fundamental change in the nature of life and mind. The key point is that we may soon be experiencing a profoundly substantial change in the “order of being.” The point is that the way we experience the world, the way we human animals live life and conduct social affairs, is not the end state of mind-in-the-universe, but only an intermediate state on the way to something else.” > **— Ben Goertzel**, *“Encouraging a Positive Transcension,” February 17, 2004* ## Sources and Context - **Primary source:** [Ben Goertzel, “Encouraging a Positive Transcension”](https://www.goertzel.org/dynapsyc/2004/PositiveTranscension.htm) — verifies the wording, attribution and immediate source setting. - **Interpretive context:** Goertzel defines Transcension before describing humanity’s present cognitive and social order as transitional. The expanded unit prevents “intermediate state” from becoming a free-floating extinction slogan: his claim concerns technological transformation in the nature of life, mind, experience and social order. - **Editorial treatment:** The source’s three consecutive definitional sentences are reproduced without insertion or omission. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/AI Escape Is the Wrong Metaphor|AI Escape Is the Wrong Metaphor]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Cannot Un-Strike the Match|We Cannot Un-Strike the Match]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Ben Goertzel|Ben Goertzel]] - [[wiki/Transcension|Transcension]] - [[wiki/Posthumanism|Posthumanism]] - [[wiki/Technological Evolution|Technological Evolution]] - [[wiki/Human Evolution|Human Evolution]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “The basic idea of the Transcension is that at some point, the advance of technology will bring about a fundamental change in the nature of life and mind. The key point is that we may soon be experiencing a profoundly substantial change in the “order of being.” The point is that the way we experience the world, the way we human animals live life and conduct social affairs, is not the end state of mind-in-the-universe, but only an intermediate state on the way to something else.” — Ben Goertzel, “Encouraging a Positive Transcension,” February 17, 2004 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-ben-goertzel-human-life-intermediate-state-mind-universe ```