017: What about Transhumanism?
07/14/19 • 93 min
What happens when all of our technological predictions converge on the human person? Today we discuss the growing movement of transhumanism. What is it, what are it’s hopes, and can a Christian be a transhumanist?
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Topics:
- Defining Transhumanism
- The history and rise of transhumanism
- Humanity Plus and their definition
- Post-Humanity
- The inevitability of transhumanism
- Transhumanism in fiction
- Criticisms and objections
- Transhumanism is unnatural
- The importance of human limitations
- Transhumanism’s secular edge
- Zoltan Istvan and an atheist transhumanism: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/im-an-atheist-therefore-i_b_4388778
- Christopher Benek’s response to Istvan: https://hplusmagazine.com/2014/03/25/religion-for-humanity/
- Transhumanism as a “secular religion”
- Wesley Smith’s “New Time Religion”: https://www.firstthings.com/article/2014/12/new-time-religion
- Christian Transhumanism: https://www.christiantranshumanism.org/about
- Chief human trait: intelligence or relationality
- Transhumanism and virtue
- Transhumanism: Neo-Gnostic or materialism?
- Micah Redding, Executive Director of the Christian Transhumanist Association: http://christandpopculture.com/can-transhumanism-lead-us-back-to-orthodoxy/
- Balanced Rhetoric
- A technological hermeneutic: https://www.christopherbenek.com/2016/06/developing-a-new-hermeneutic-of-intelligence-and-reality/
- Looking Ahead: STEET and microsleep
Verses Referenced:
- 1 Corinthians 13:11-13
- Genesis 1:31
- Ephesians 1:17-18
Facebook: fb.me/SGSTPodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SGSTPodcast
Intro and outro music: Cosmic Pluck from Vycroft. ( https://freesound.org/people/vykroft/ )
“For the Church Segment” transition music: Marketing from Skibka Music. ( https://freesound.org/people/SkibkaMusic/ )
What happens when all of our technological predictions converge on the human person? Today we discuss the growing movement of transhumanism. What is it, what are it’s hopes, and can a Christian be a transhumanist?
----more----
Topics:
- Defining Transhumanism
- The history and rise of transhumanism
- Humanity Plus and their definition
- Post-Humanity
- The inevitability of transhumanism
- Transhumanism in fiction
- Criticisms and objections
- Transhumanism is unnatural
- The importance of human limitations
- Transhumanism’s secular edge
- Zoltan Istvan and an atheist transhumanism: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/im-an-atheist-therefore-i_b_4388778
- Christopher Benek’s response to Istvan: https://hplusmagazine.com/2014/03/25/religion-for-humanity/
- Transhumanism as a “secular religion”
- Wesley Smith’s “New Time Religion”: https://www.firstthings.com/article/2014/12/new-time-religion
- Christian Transhumanism: https://www.christiantranshumanism.org/about
- Chief human trait: intelligence or relationality
- Transhumanism and virtue
- Transhumanism: Neo-Gnostic or materialism?
- Micah Redding, Executive Director of the Christian Transhumanist Association: http://christandpopculture.com/can-transhumanism-lead-us-back-to-orthodoxy/
- Balanced Rhetoric
- A technological hermeneutic: https://www.christopherbenek.com/2016/06/developing-a-new-hermeneutic-of-intelligence-and-reality/
- Looking Ahead: STEET and microsleep
Verses Referenced:
- 1 Corinthians 13:11-13
- Genesis 1:31
- Ephesians 1:17-18
Facebook: fb.me/SGSTPodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SGSTPodcast
Intro and outro music: Cosmic Pluck from Vycroft. ( https://freesound.org/people/vykroft/ )
“For the Church Segment” transition music: Marketing from Skibka Music. ( https://freesound.org/people/SkibkaMusic/ )
Previous Episode
016: Science Fiction with Nate Ward
Science Fiction can be more than cheap genre fiction with little value. Joined by my guest, Nate Ward of The Things We Say Podcast, we discuss how science fiction can inspire and what we think some gets right and some gets wrong.
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Notes:
- My guest is Nate Ward, one of the two hosts of The Things We Say podcast.
- Science fiction as meaningful literature and media
- Levels of science fiction
- Things we think Sci-Fi gets right and wrong
- Star Trek’s Holodecks
- The failure of utopian visions
- Data, AI, and motivation
- AI and the Prime Directive
- Sound in space
- Creating cultures
- Taking human problems to the starts
- Religion in Science Fiction
- Economics in Science Fiction
- Science Fiction we talk about:
- Star Trek
- Star Wars
- Firefly
- The Expanse book series by S.A. Corey
- Battle Star Galactica
- Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
- The Orville
- A book whose title and author shall not be named…
Facebook: fb.me/SGSTPodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SGSTPodcast
Intro and outro music: Cosmic Pluck from Vycroft. ( https://freesound.org/people/vykroft/ )
“For the Church Segment” transition music: Marketing from Skibka Music. ( https://freesound.org/people/SkibkaMusic/ )
Next Episode
018: Technology and Sexuality
How will emerging technologies impact human sexuality? With VR, ectogenesis, and sex-bots becoming reality, what are we to do? Given the mature topic, listener discretion is advised.
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Topics:
- Sexuality as a basic human drive and motivation
- Are we in a sex recession?
- Entertainment, social media, and human interaction
- The emergence of sexbots
- The perceived pros and cons
- Regulations, laws, and sexbots
- CREEPER Act in the United States (H.R. 4655)
- The Campaign Against Sex Robots and ethics professor Kathleen Richardson
- Sexbots and simulated sexual deviancy
- Possible AI consciousness and robotic romantic partners
- Foundation for Responsible Robotics
- Deep Fakes
- Virtual Reality
- New presentations of the self and virtual sexual experience
- Black Mirror’s Striking Vipers
- Ray Kurzweil on altered experiences in VR
- Ectogenesis and the abortion debate
- Artificial wombs
- How ectogenesis may change, but not end the abortion debate
- https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2017/06/our-outdated-debates
- Jessica Keating, director of the Office of Human Dignity and Life Initiatives in the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame.
- Are Christians sex-obsessed
- Christians and the sexual ethics of ancient Rome
- Sexual Revolution and the religious response
- Purity Culture and “sexual prosperity gospel”
- Sex and biblical imagery
- Jesus on lust and marriage
- Legalistic excuses and the heart of the matter
- Looking Ahead: Multi-legged pharmaceutical micro robots
Verses Referenced:
- Matthew 5:28
- Philippians 4:8
Facebook: fb.me/SGSTPodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SGSTPodcast
Intro and outro music: Cosmic Pluck from Vycroft. ( https://freesound.org/people/vykroft/ )
“For the Church Segment” transition music: Marketing from Skibka Music. ( https://freesound.org/people/SkibkaMusic/ )
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