Zygon 47 (4):710-734 (2012)
Abstract |
In the second half of the twentieth century, humanism— namely, the worldview that underpinned Western thought for several centuries—has been severely critiqued by philosophers who highlighted its theoretical and ethical limitations. Inspired by the emergence of cybernetics and new technologies such as robotics, prosthetics, communications, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and nanotechnology, there has been a desire to articulate a new worldview that will fit the posthuman condition. Posthumanism is a description of a new form of human existence in which the boundaries between humans and nature and humans and machines are blurred, as well as a prescription for an ideal situation in which the limitations of human biology are transcended, replaced by machines. The transition from the human condition to the posthuman condition will be facilitated by transhumanism, the project of human enhancement that will ultimately yield the transformation of the human species from the human to the posthuman. As an intellectual movement, transhumanism is still very small, but transhumanist ideas exert deep and broad influence on contemporary culture and society. This essay highlights the religious dimension of transhumanism and argues that it should be seen as a secularist faith: transhumanism secularizes traditional religious themes, concerns, and goals, while endowing technology with religious significance. Science‐Religion Studies is the most appropriate context to explore the cultural significance of transhumanism
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Keywords | posthumanism eschatology apocalyptic AI Enlightenment Project technological posthumanism transhumanism philosophical/cultural posthumanism cybernetics postsecular moment new religious movements |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9744.2012.01288.x |
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References found in this work BETA
Enhancing Evolution: The Ethical Case for Making Better People.John Harris - 2007 - Princeton University Press.
An Awareness of What is Missing: Faith and Reason in a Post-Secular Age.Jürgen Habermas - 2010 - Polity.
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Citations of this work BETA
The Story of Humanity and the Challenge of Posthumanity.Zoltán Boldizsár Simon - 2019 - History of the Human Sciences 32 (2).
Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and the Re‐Enchantment of the World.Mohammad Yaqub Chaudhary - 2019 - Zygon 54 (2):454-478.
Techno‐Secularity and Techno‐Sapiens: Editorial for Zygon's First Real Virtual Issue.Willem B. Drees - 2013 - Zygon 48 (1):5-8.
View all 15 citations / Add more citations
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2012-11-21
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