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.

Transhumanism is an international movement that advocates the use of science and technology to overcome the "natural" limitations experienced by humanity through such developments as: the Singularity--the creation of machine intelligences that exceed the capacities of our biological brains the ability to replicate individual minds and put them into solidstate bodies or virtual environments individual control over mental and emotional states for enhancing functionalities and/or ecstasies Some of this is happening now. Some of it is still in the minds of dreamers. In nearly ninety AZ entries, Transcendence provides a multilayered look at the accelerating advances in artificial intelligence, cognitive science, genomics, information technology, nanotechnology, neuroscience, space exploration, synthetic biology, robotics, and virtual worlds that are making transhumanism a reality. Entries range from Cloning and Cyborg Feminism to Designer Babies and MemoryEditing Drugs. In addition, the book notes historical predecessors and personalities, both in mythology and history--ranging from Timothy Leary to Michael Jackson to Ray Kurzweil. It also introduces the culture around Transhumanism, covering all the geeky obsessions of the Transhumanist movement.

Examining the transhumanist movement, biblical ethicist Jacob Shatzer grapples with the potential for technology to transform the way we think about what it means to be human. Exploring the doctrine of incarnation and topics such as artificial intelligence, robotics, medical technology, and communications tools, he guides us into careful consideration of the future of Christian discipleship in a disruptive technological environment.

Transhumanists would have humanity's creation of posthumanity be our governing aim. Susan B. Levin challenges their overarching commitments regarding the mind, brain, ethics, liberal democracy, knowledge, and reality. Her critique unmasks their notion of humanity's self-transcendence via science and technology as pure, albeit seductive, fantasy.

This collection of original articles, a sequel of sorts to the 2009 Religion and the Implications of Radical Life Extension (Palgrave Macmillan), is the first sustained reflection, by scholars with expertise in the faith traditions, on how the transhumanist agenda might impact the body.

Enthusiasts look forward to a time when tiny machines reassemble matter and process information but is their vision realistic? 'Soft Machines' explains why the nanoworld is so different to the macro-world that we are all familar with and shows how it has more in common with biology than conventional engineering.

Transhumanism is widely misunderstood, in part because the media have exaggerated current technologies and branded the movement as dangerous, leading many to believe that hybrid humans may soon walk among us and that immortality, achieved by means of mind-uploading, is imminent. In this essential and clarifying volume, Stefan Lorenz Sorgner debunks widespread myths about transhumanism and tackles the most pressing ethical issues in the debate over technologically assisted human enhancement. On Transhumanism is a vital primer on the subject, written by a world-renowned expert. In this book, Sorgner presents an overview of the movement’s history, capably summarizing the twelve pillars of transhumanist discourse and explaining the great diversity of transhumanist responses to each individual topic. He highlights the urgent ethical challenges related to the latest technological developments, inventions, and innovations and compares the unique cultural standing of transhumanism to other cultural movements, placing it within the broader context of the Enlightenment, modernity, postmodernity, and the philosophical writings of Nietzsche. Engagingly written and translated and featuring an introduction for North American readers, this comprehensive overview of the cultural and philosophical movement of transhumanism will be required reading for students of posthumanist philosophy and for general audiences interested in learning about the transhumanist movement.

For millennia, great thinkers have contemplated the meaning and purpose of human existence; but while most assumed that humanity was the end point of creation or the pinnacle of evolution, Ted Chu makes the provocative claim that the human race may in fact be a means rather than an end—that humankind will give rise to evolutionary successors. In this wide-ranging and authoritative work, Chu reexamines the question of human purpose in light of the extraordinary developments of science and technology. Arguing that a deep understanding of our place in the universe is required to navigate the magnitude of the choices that lie ahead, he surveys human wisdom from both East and West, traces the evolutionary trajectory that has led to this point, and explores the potentials emerging on the scientific frontier. The book addresses the legitimate fears and concerns of “playing God” but embraces the possibility of transcending biological forms and becoming or creating entirely new life-forms.

Christians have always been concerned with enhancement—now they are faced with significant questions about how technology can help or harm genuine spiritual transformation. What makes traditional and technological enhancement different from each other? Are there theological insights and spiritual practices that can help Christians face the challenge of living in a technological world without being dangerously conformed to its values? This book calls on Christians to understand and engage the deep issues facing the church in a technological, transhumanist future.

This collection vigorously addresses the religious implications of extreme human enhancement technology. Topics covered include cutting edge themes, such as moral enhancement, common ground to both transhumanism and religion, the meaning of death, desire and transcendence, and virtue ethics. Radical enhancement programs, advocated by transhumanists, could arguably have a more profound impact than any other development in human history. Reflecting a range of opinion about the desirability of extreme enhancement, leading scholars in the field join with emerging scholars to foster enhanced conversation on these topics.