Transhumanism and transcendence [electronic resource] : Christian hope in an age of technological enhancement / Ronald Cole-Turner, editor.

The timeless human desire to be more beautiful, intelligent, healthy, athletic, or young has given rise in our time to technologies of human enhancement. Athletes use drugs to increase their strength or stamina; cosmetic surgery is widely used to improve physical appearance; millions of men take drugs like Viagra to enhance sexual performance. And today researchers are exploring technologies such as cell regeneration and implantable devices that interact directly with the brain. Some condemn these developments as a new kind of cheating--not just in sports but in life itself--promising rewards without effort and depriving us most of all of what it means to be authentic human beings. "Transhumanists," on the other hand, reject what they see as a rationalizing of human limits, as if being human means being content forever with underachieving bodies and brains. To be human, they insist, is to be restless with possibilities, always eager to transcend biological limits.

As the debate grows in urgency, how should theology respond? Christian theologians recognize truth on both sides of the argument, pointing out how the yearnings of the transhumanists--if not their technological methods--find deep affinities in Christian belief. In this volume, Ronald Cole-Turner has joined seasoned scholars and younger, emerging voices together to bring fresh insight into the technologies that are already reshaping the future of Christian life and hope.

Author Notes

Ronald Cole-Turner holds the H. Parker Sharp Chair in Theology and Ethics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He is the editor of Design and Destiny: Jewish and Christian Perspectives on Human Germline Modification and coeditor of God and the Embryo: Religious Voices on Stem Cells and Cloning .

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This edited volume offers a collection of responses by Christian theologians to the transhumanism movement and its aspirations for finding technological means to indefinitely prolong life. Many of the essays are nuanced and subtle, and represent a range of responses to transhumanism. Several are critical, sometimes sharply so. Lutheran theologian Ted Peters critiques transhumanism for inadequately grasping the depths of human sinfulness and the extent to which new technologies may be used selfishly without regard for the common good. Feminist theologian J. Jeanine Thweatt-Bates examines some transhumanists' desire to transcend gender, finding in it a move away from specifically female bodies. Neuroscientist Michael Spezio critiques research connected to transhumanist ideals that seeks to blunt or modify emotions, noting the importance of emotions from both a neuroscientific and a theological perspective. But the appraisals are not wholly negative. Todd Daly notes the affinity between the transhumanist longing for immortality and Christian doctrines of the afterlife, a point made by Gerald McKenny as well. The diversity and quality of these contributions make the volume useful for those interested in the intersection of theological ethics and transhumanist ideals. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. G. R. Peterson South Dakota State University

1 Introduction: The Transhumanist ChallengeRonald Cole-Turner

2 Contextualizing a Christian Perspective on Transcendence and Human Enhancement: Francis Bacon, N. F. Fedorov, and Pierre Teilhard de ChardinMichael S. Burdett

3 Transformation and the End of Enhancement: Insights from Pierre Teilhard de ChardinDavid Grumett

4 Dignity and Enhancement in the Holy CityKaren Lebacqz

5 Progress and Provolution: Will Transhumanism Leave Sin Behind?Ted Peters

6 The Hopeful CyborgStephen Garner

7 Artificial Wombs and Cyborg Births: Postgenderism and TheologyJ. Jeanine Thweatt-Bates

8 Taking Leave of the Animal? The Theological and Ethical Implications of Transhuman ProjectsCelia Deane-Drummond

9 Chasing Methuselah: Transhumanism and Christian Theosis in Critical PerspectiveTodd T. W. Daly

10 Human or Vulcan? Theological Consideration of Emotional Control EnhancementMichael L. Spezio

11 Whose Salvation? Which Eschatology? Transhumanism and Christianity as Contending Salvific ReligionsBrent Waters

12 Transcendence, Technological Enhancement, and Christian TheologyGerald McKenny

13 Transhumanism and ChristianityRonald Cole-Turner

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Table of Contents