Well, at least they are clear about what they intend to do...
John G. Messerly
Transhumanism appears to have nothing in common with religion, defined as: “the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or any such system of belief and worship…”[2] In transhumanism gods plays no role.
Yet the two are not entirely dissimilar. Like transhumanists, the religious generally want to overcome the limitations of the body and live forever in eternal bliss. Religions, arising before transhumanist ideas were conceivable, advised its followers to accept death and hope for the best, with no other options available. And religious beliefs provided comfort against natural evils before the advent of science and technology.
But must we relinquish religious beliefs now, before science gives us everything we want? Might we allow the comfort of religious beliefs to those who need them, to those who must tell their children something when someone dies? The most important reason to abandon religious belief is religion’s opposition to most forms of progress. From the elimination of slavery, the use of birth control, and women’s and civil rights, to stem cell research, genetic engineering, and science in general, organized religion often opposes progress. The comfort provided by archaic superstitions often impedes advancement and should be set aside.
Read the rest of this article at - http://hplusmagazine.com/2014/07/21/transhumanism-and-the-end-of-religion/
John G. Messerly
Mankind is still embryonic … [humans are] the bud from which something more complicated and more centered than [humans themselves] should emerge. ~ Teilhard de Chardin
1. The End of Religion
Transhumanism is:
The intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally improving the human condition through applied reason, especially by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities … transhumanism is a way of thinking about the future that is based on the premise that the human species in its current form does not represent the end of our development but rather a comparatively early phase.[1]
Yet the two are not entirely dissimilar. Like transhumanists, the religious generally want to overcome the limitations of the body and live forever in eternal bliss. Religions, arising before transhumanist ideas were conceivable, advised its followers to accept death and hope for the best, with no other options available. And religious beliefs provided comfort against natural evils before the advent of science and technology.
But must we relinquish religious beliefs now, before science gives us everything we want? Might we allow the comfort of religious beliefs to those who need them, to those who must tell their children something when someone dies? The most important reason to abandon religious belief is religion’s opposition to most forms of progress. From the elimination of slavery, the use of birth control, and women’s and civil rights, to stem cell research, genetic engineering, and science in general, organized religion often opposes progress. The comfort provided by archaic superstitions often impedes advancement and should be set aside.
Read the rest of this article at - http://hplusmagazine.com/2014/07/21/transhumanism-and-the-end-of-religion/
