Transhumanism and Transcendence: Christian Hope in an Age of Technological Enhancement by Ronald Cole-Turner

Author:Ronald Cole-Turner [Cole-Turner, Ronald]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781589017801
Amazon: 1589017803
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
Published: 2011-09-29T00:00:00+00:00

of obligation to create a new human future. In this he perceives enhance-

ments fitting in to a view of what might be broadly termed human “evolu-

tion,” understood as a human construction. He goes as far as to suggest that

we need to replace natural selection with deliberate selection and Darwin-

ian evolution with enhancement evolution. 3 He believes, therefore, that the

potential of humanity can only be reached by taking such deliberate steps,

achieved through enhancement technologies. He also reinforces this by sug-

gesting that there was never a time when humans did not try and improve

their lot, as “ape-descended” persons. 4 Here he seems to be using a natural-

istic Darwinian argument, that because even our early ancestors were pre-

sumably selected to try and improve their situation, then we should do the

same. The difference is that now, according to him, evolution is within our

powers to manipulate. 5 I suggest that beginning with such an analysis helps

to explain the significance of those particular cases of enhancement that

seem at first sight to be reasonable and realistic.

Bostrom is an atheist philosopher and transhuman activist who, paradox-

ically perhaps, has written on the philosophical aspects of global risk tak-

ing, as well as promoting his own version of transhuman philosophy.6 In a

manner reminiscent of forecasts made by economists or policymakers, he

taking leave o the animal 117

envisages four scenarios for humanity’s future evolution: extinction, recur-

rent collapse, plateau, and posthumanity. He believes that his own approach

builds on what is possible at the moment, rather than being invented through

science fiction or theology—which he understands as, for example, just one

screen for our hopes and fears, or a means whereby ideology is mobilized.7

For him, technology drives economic growth; hence, our projections of

technology are strongly correlated with human development. His optimistic

view of technology leads to a more or less linear development, where all

possible human capabilities that can be attained through technology will be

attained. He names such a position in grandiose terms as the “Technological

Completion Conjecture.”8 Although he refrains from using the word “prog-

ress,” his observation that each new generation is more “advanced” than its

predecessor implies a positive outcome.

He also believes that positive outcomes will happen in one scenario,

which he names as the posthuman one. His argument for posthumanism

sounds attractive when placed alongside the three other scenarios. The pos-

sibility of a plateau, which maintains the status quo, is implausible for him

because he believes it is unrealistic. 9 The most important technological devel-

opments for him, and for the topic of this chapter, are those that impinge

directly on human biology. Here he speaks positively in terms of the control

of human senescence, so that life expectancy is about 1,000 years; and happi-

ness is enhanced by the “control of brain circuitry responsible for subjective

well being,” the use of drugs, and other neurotechnologies in order to adjust

“personality, emotional character, mental energy, romantic attachments and

moral character. Cognitive enhancements might deepen our intellectual

lives.”10 Such developments are, he suggests, within the bounds of physical possibility.11 There are, however, complexity barriers worth considering,

which means that highly complex systems go wrong in unexpected ways,

though he is reluctant to admit that this would apply to all technologies

enabling a posthuman condition.

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