[tt] [wta-talk] The Templeton journal publishes another article on H+

[Eugen Leitl]

----- Forwarded message from "Hughes, James J." <James.Hughes at trincoll.edu> -----

From: "Hughes, James J." <James.Hughes at trincoll.edu>
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007 18:08:55 -0400
To: World Transhumanist Association Discussion List <wta-talk at transhumanism.org>
Subject: [wta-talk] The Templeton journal publishes another article on H+
Reply-To: World Transhumanist Association Discussion List <wta-talk at transhumanism.org>


http://metanexus.net/magazine/tabid/68/id/10169/Default.aspx#_ednref35

Facing the Challenges of Transhumanism: Philosophical, Religious, and
Ethical Considerations

By Hava Tirosh-Samuelson

....

 
Conclusion: Transhumanism and the Dialogue of Science and Religion

It is quite clear that the transhumanist vision emerged because of the
confluence of knowledge in certain scientific fields and their
technological applications, especially in genetics, robotics, and
nanotechnology. The fusion of horizons of knowledge demonstrates why the
traditional disciplinary boundaries are becoming increasingly obsolete
and why scholars in the humanities and the social sciences need to
become at least aware if not conversant with the new disciplines. But
conversely, scholars in the applied sciences and especially engineering
and public policy must become more attune to the humanities and must
engage their own scientific disciplines critically in light of the
values articulated by the humanities.

The promoters of transhumanism are right to hold that we are facing a
new situation in human development because today the human being has
become a design project. But unlike the advocates of the transhumanist
vision, I am deeply concerned, even worried, about the current
situation. The new genetics enables us to enhance our biological state;
nanotechnology enables us to manipulate materials on an atomic scale;
and robotics not only replaces the human brain with non-biological
computing power, which will exceed the human brain, but also facilitates
the integration of biological and information technology. Given these
developments, the modernist dichotomy between the observer and the
observed, the humans and the physical environment, nature and culture,
making and thinking is no longer tenable. Indeed we are now faced with a
challenge that requires us to rethink the legacy of the Enlightenment
and articulate a new theoretical framework that could address the new
complex reflexivity.

Transhumanists dismiss their critics as "bio-Conservative" or
"bio-Luddites", but name calling is not a substitute for critical
thinking.35 We do need to understand the novelty of the new situation,
and this will be the focus of the second year of the Templeton Research
Lectures at ASU with the Templeton Co-Fellows of Braden Allenby and
Daniel Sarewitz and invited guest speakers: Jean-Pierre Dupuy, Katherine
Hayles, Don Ihde, Andrew Pickering, and Ted Peters. We cannot yet
predict the outcome of these deliberations, but it is clear that the
deliberations will be decidedly transdicsiplinary, crossing the
boundaries between history, philosophy, science, technology, art,
literature, religion, and spirituality. Transdisciplinarity indeed
characterizes intellectual life in the 21st century, which is indeed
progressing toward a post-human future with its promises and perils. 

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