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Transhumanism and Christianity
A Ratzingerian Approach to the Concept of Biotechnological Human Enhancement
in Religion and TheologySearch for other papers by Markus Lipowicz in
Current site
Google Scholar
Abstract
Although supporters of transhumanism present their agenda as a secular movement that specifically challenges the basic ontological and ethical premises of Christian metaphysics, there are also techno-progressive thinkers who claim that Christians should endorse a moderate version of biotechnological human enhancement. The main objective of this essay is to scrutinise this claim by outlining the relationship between transhumanism and Christian anthropology from the perspective of Joseph Ratzinger’s thought. The order of this analysis is constituted by three steps: first, I will critically analyse Benedikt Paul Göcke’s main arguments in favor of a Christian transhumanism; secondly, I will discuss the normative foundation of the techno-progressive agenda with regard to Ratzinger’s/Benedict XVI’s critique of the modern concept of freedom and its anthropological implication – the technological “new man”; finally, I will refer the notion of the posthuman to Ratzinger’s theo-evolutionary image of Jesus Christ as the “man of the future.”
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Bardziński, Filip. “Transhumanism and Evolution. Considerations on Darwin, Lamarck and Transhumanism.” Ethics in Progress 5, no. 2 (2014): 103–115. Online: https://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/eip/article/view/9365.
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Benedict XVI. Caritas in Veritate (Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate of the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI to the Bishops, Priests and Deacons, Men and Women Religious, the Lay Faithful, and All People of Good Will on Integral Human Development in Charity and Truth), 29 June 2009. Online: https://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/pl/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate.html.
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Damberger, Thomas, and Estella Hebert. “Is Pedagogy Transhuman? Reflections on the Relationship between Pedagogy and Transhumanism.” Studia Paedagogica Ignatiana 20, no. 1 (2017): 41–56. Online: doi.org/10.12775/SPI.2017.1.00.
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Ferrando, Francesca. “Posthumanism, Transhumanism, Antihumanism, Metahumanism, and New Materialisms: Differences and Relations.” Existenz 8 (2013): 26–32.
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Goldberg, Steve. 2009. “Does the Wall Still Stand? The Implications of Transhumanism for the Separation of Church and State.” Speech at the Workshop on Transhumanism and the Future of Democracy, Templeton Research Lectures at the Arizona State University Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict, April 24: 2–6. Online: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1408586.
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Göcke, Benedikt Paul. “Christian Cyborgs: A Plea for a Moderate Transhumanism.” Faith and Philosophy 34, no. 3 (2017): 347–364. Online: doi.org/10.5840/faithphil201773182.
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| Insgesamt | Letzte 365 Tage | In den letzten 30 Tagen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aufrufe von Kurzbeschreibungen | 2539 | 205 | 24 |
| Gesamttextansichten | 168 | 2 | 0 |
| PDF-Downloads | 335 | 6 | 0 |
Transhumanism and Christianity
A Ratzingerian Approach to the Concept of Biotechnological Human Enhancement
in Religion and TheologySearch for other papers by Markus Lipowicz in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Although supporters of transhumanism present their agenda as a secular movement that specifically challenges the basic ontological and ethical premises of Christian metaphysics, there are also techno-progressive thinkers who claim that Christians should endorse a moderate version of biotechnological human enhancement. The main objective of this essay is to scrutinise this claim by outlining the relationship between transhumanism and Christian anthropology from the perspective of Joseph Ratzinger’s thought. The order of this analysis is constituted by three steps: first, I will critically analyse Benedikt Paul Göcke’s main arguments in favor of a Christian transhumanism; secondly, I will discuss the normative foundation of the techno-progressive agenda with regard to Ratzinger’s/Benedict XVI’s critique of the modern concept of freedom and its anthropological implication – the technological “new man”; finally, I will refer the notion of the posthuman to Ratzinger’s theo-evolutionary image of Jesus Christ as the “man of the future.”
| Insgesamt | Letzte 365 Tage | In den letzten 30 Tagen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aufrufe von Kurzbeschreibungen | 2539 | 205 | 24 |
| Gesamttextansichten | 168 | 2 | 0 |
| PDF-Downloads | 335 | 6 | 0 |
