McGill University’s Margaret Somerville has a thought-provoking piece, “The Flawed Quest for Perfection,” in the Ottawa Citizen.
Does any given use of this science, in the search for human perfection, damage or destroy the essence of our humanness? That leads to the question of whether at least some imperfections are elements of that essence and of immense value as such. Just like the hand-knitted sweater, are they part of what makes each of us unique originals?
. . .
I propose a very important question we need to ask in deciding what we may and should not do with our new technoscience, that is, what is ethical or unethical: Does any given use of this science, in the search for human perfection, damage or destroy the essence of our humanness? That leads to the question of whether at least some imperfections are elements of that essence and of immense value as such. Just like the hand-knitted sweater, are they part of what makes each of us unique originals?
HT: Bioethics.com
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I know I feel like we’ve been overwhelmed with Michael Jackson news, but here’s an article that looks at his life from a slightly different perspective: “Was Michael Jackson a Transhumanist?”
Jackson [defied] his biological limitations in terms of his transformation of his inherited features — his cosmetic surgery and his change of skin color (he might also have included his cross-genderish style of dress and makeup).
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Another link from Christianity Today: Sci-Fi’s Brave New World: How the genre draws us to its own views of redemption
Which stories will guide us as we make our way through the perilous 21st century with its stunning technologies and burgeoning data about our bodies, minds, and universe? As science holds out to us possibilities previously only imagined, which myths will shape the imaginations of our decision makers? Which narratives will form our religious sensibilities, provide our spiritual values, and craft our view of the supernatural—indeed, of God? Only the true myth at the heart of Christianity is powerful enough to prevent excesses and avert atrocities. How can the church respond?
Read the whole thing
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Some of you may know that I’ve written and spoken on the topic of Transhumanism. Salvo magazine has recently made some of their content available online, including the cover article from their first issue, “Better than Human: The Transhumanist Transition to a Technological Future.”
The article was written just after I had finished my master’s thesis on Transhumanism, and I had several conversations with the article’s author as he was working on it.
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