Transhumanism might seem like a foreign concept, but it’s based on ideas and technologies already in use today. As Emma Berthold, ISCAST’s Senior Editor, discovered, it’s something Christians need to take seriously.
Friends and family were very confused when I told them I was busy editing a series of discussion papers about transhumanism. Conversations typically went like this:
“Transhumanism? What’s that? Like, transgender people?”
“No, transhumanism, as in using technology to enhance and upgrade your mind and body.”
“Oh.” Puzzled silence. “Wait, what?”
Their confusion is understandable. The term “transhumanism” and the wider movement it represents haven’t really made their way into the public consciousness. Most people, when hearing descriptions of the term, think it belongs only in science fiction: microchips in brains, arms that shoot lasers, swapping consciousnesses into robotic bodies.
To be fair, I probably would have thought along similar lines before starting this editing work. But, as I soon learned, while those fictional representations may seem a bit extreme, they reflect elements of modern transhumanism: a real movement, driven by real people, and based on technologies that already exist or are in development now.
