Transhumanism

The central principle of Transhumanism rejects any natural or divine limits and adheres to the technological imperative, a belief that says "What can be done should be done. ~ Dr. Lawrence Terlizzese

Pix Via ATCA

by Kerby Anderson, Point of View: One word you are going to be hearing more about is the word “transhumanism.” Now, I realize this may be an unfamiliar term. But we can all probably remember when we first heard about humanism, the New Age Movement, or other philosophies. At first, the terms were unfamiliar, but we began to realize that it was important to understand what they meant.

What exactly is transhumanism? It is an intellectual and cultural movement that seeks to transform the human condition. The leaders of this movement want to use the developing technologies to eliminate aging and enhance human potential (physical, psychological, and mental). Two primary ways they want to do this is through genetic engineering and artificial intelligence. They want to genetically create “the new man” and they want to use technology to turn us into “cyborgs” (which is short for cybernetic organism).

The genetic part of this equation claims that we can use gene splicing and other genetic modification techniques so that genes can be easily transferred between species. This might even create a global super-organism. And while Christians would certainly endorse the use of genetics to rid humankind of genetic diseases, we would certainly be concerned about geneticists who want to create a super human race. In fact, one scientist bragged that by using these new technologies we can rewrite the fifth and sixth days of creation.

The other part of the equation concerns technology. The leaders of transhumanism believe we are on the cusp of a technological threshold in both artificial intelligence and human-machine technology. They call the point when humans and machines merge into one as “the Singularity.”

The leaders of transhumanism believe we should use technology to improve the human race so that we are perfect and immortal. In many ways, this technological imperative harkens back to the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). Instead, we should use technology wisely as we exercise dominion over the world (Genesis 1:28). I’m Kerby Anderson, and that’s my point of view.

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