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Luciano Marro

Professor Beard

English 110-03

October 20, 2022

The War of Transcendence

Our world has deliberately been thrown into a technological era where views on human

ethics clash. Transhumanism is a belief and theory that humans can surpass their physical and

mental limitations. It started as a mere idea that was considered impossible before the age of the

“super” computer and is now a potential, if not the probable reality for the human race. I believe

that transhumanism is morally and spiritually unethical because humans are not able to transcend

life as living beings. Superhuman strength, as well as superhuman intelligence, and eternal life

are all plausible concepts of transhumanism. Artificial Intelligence such as a robot being

neurologically linked with a human being is all possible. Small incremental steps into the realm

of transhumanism have only recently been explored. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania politician

who is currently running for U.S. Senate recently suffered a stroke that partially paralyzed him

and hindered his brain functions including loss of hearing as well as speaking. It is reported that

software was developed that enabled Mr. Fetterman to understand a person’s words. The

software also reportedly aided Mr. Fetterman’s impediments by assisting him to interpret his

thoughts and verbally express responses. The pro-transhumanist society as expected caught wind

of this news and is ecstatic to see a step into transhumanism take place based on the reported

positive outcome of a public figure. Although some people believe that transhumanism can

create a world of immortality, void of intellectual flaws and negative emotions, the fact of the

matter is that transhumanism is catastrophically unethical. This is because of its in-your-face

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denial of opposition to salvation by Christ, use for political agendas, and elimination of critical

emotions such as excitement and urgency that would cease to exist in a digital eternal existence.

Transhumanists believe in a world of human transcendence and technological

advancement far beyond current levels. People closest to the transhumanism movement believe

in its capability to create a world of eternal life through digital immortality, perfect human health

due to the eradication of disease, and superhuman strength. Moral Transhumanism: The Next

Step states, “A job candidate with a neural implant that enables better data retention and faster

information processing would consistently beat out unenhanced candidates” (Tension, 406). The

neurological chip would enhance human performance in work settings compared to a human

without the neurological chip. Transhumanists support technological advancements such as

neurological chips that would provide superhuman sight and hearing which will dramatically

increase human working capabilities. The idea that humans can “evolve and advance”

technologically beyond the normal human pace is an interesting concept that could exponentially

increase productivity in the workplace. However, if neurological chips were mass-produced and

available to the general public, there would be an inevitable and obvious unfairness that would

immediately be present. Neurological technology would undoubtedly be extremely expensive

and available only to the wealthiest citizens. Not only would neurological chips be very costly,

but would also create an unfair advantage for those workers that had the means and chose to

attain these chips. The advancement of an enhanced human could inevitably lead to the

formation of two groups of workers. Eventually, the neurological chips will be wanted outside of

work. If the perception becomes that those with chips can exponentially grow their “basic”

human capabilities and those without the chips maintain a “normal” human baseline capability

then chips will be an all-time high necessity. The public would believe that neurological chips
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will offer a potentially better position or outcomes in life, and parents may simply purchase chips

for their children in the hope of a more successful life. These early forms of transhumanism are

sparking the debate on ethics and whether or not people believe and will embrace this new, but

controversial human “advancement”. One major worry that tags along with transhumanism is the

opposition to the salvation of Christ in Christianity.

Christians do not support life extension because it opposes the belief that Christ is their

salvation and path to eternal life. The author of Transhumanism and Roman Catholicism:

Imagined and Real Tensions states, “Christians oppose life extension because extending life will

compete with their vision of otherworldly immortality and that once immortality becomes

possible, then Christians will not allow transhumans to die.” (Green). The belief that Christ is

their salvation is defined as repentance and faith in Christ. Although the author does not fully

support these statements, he acknowledges them from the Christian standpoint and gives his

reasoning as to why. Green then goes on to say that Christians can support life extension because

they would be living longer to support God. Even though there is a reasonable point given, the

question remains of the opposition to the salvation of Christ. The human race currently consists

of over seven billion people. Of this, roughly eighty-five percent of the global population is

religious with Christianity as the most popular formal religion. So a majority of the world would

oppose this idea of transhumanism due to the beliefs of Christianity. Transhumanism acts as a

controller of change whereas the faithful people of Christianity believe in natural change. The act

of being able to control the change makes the concept of transhumanism unethical. There is

power in the hand of humanity instead of god. From a religious standpoint, one could say that

transhumanism is the new form of human temptation that provides salvation by humanity instead

of God. There is no opposition to the technology itself, but remember that technology should aid
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humanity, not replace humanity. No matter the side an individual resides on, one should decide

for themselves and not the government, scientists, politicians, or others.

Transhumanism has the potential to be easily manipulated by global governments due to

the influence and authority that governments naturally possess. Transhumanism is evolving into

a very enticing topic for various groups around the world, such as the government. The article,

“Transhumanism”: A New Global Political Trend?, states that, “New transhumanist political

parties are spreading from the United States around the globe, loosely connected by a network

called “Transhumanist Party Global.” (Benedikter, Siepmann, 47). Transhumanism is becoming

known worldwide for its tremendously interesting proposition of eternal life. Global

governments have recently proposed the idea of a transhumanist political party in their list of

official parties because there is a want to spread the transhumanist ideals of a technological way

of governing. Governments or industries influenced by the government would hold power like

never before by having the power to pick and choose what individuals remain alive or connected

online because the government so chooses. Artificial intelligence has come a long way in the

past two decades. With the rate that technology is advancing, uploading a person’s consciousness

into A.I (artificial intelligence) is in the realm of possibility. Transhumanism and artificial

intelligence are slowly becoming more connected every day. Governments around the world

such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany have shown the most interest in the

idea of transhumanism. The transhumanist party’s goal is to implement “meta-policies” and

“post-policies”. Both policies refer to the “post-human” resulting from the successful

transhumanism software that makes surpassing current human physical and mental states

possible. Zoltan Istvan, a renowned futurist leader ran for the United States presidency in 2016.

Istvan believed in running the government through meta-policies which would push the world
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into an acknowledgment of transhumanism. Bringing awareness to technological advancements

is not a frowned-upon idea. However, if transhumanism is successfully developed and

implemented into official government policy, there is no telling how citizens will react to the

sudden switches to meta policies. Throughout history, politics were generally known for its nasty

reputation and use of “any means necessary” and “the ends justify the means” to force an agenda

on the public. The government could gate-keep such technological advancements and use them

for its own benefit. Transhumanism could end up being a powerful tool for government use. The

government will inevitably crumble due to corruption of power because of expenses that can

only be paid by the higher-ups of society. This corruption will lean toward an era of tyrannical

government ran by advanced technology that leaves the people with limited or no say. However,

the ones who possess such technological advancements will eventually learn that their life loses

meaning.

Living an eternal life that grants superhuman qualities may result in catastrophic and

despair rather than prosperity and happiness. Once there is no limit to one’s existence, life will

become meaningless in the sense of no excitement or urgency to accomplish anything. In the

article “Is a Finite Life Such a Bad Idea? Transhumanism and Theological Anthropology”, the

author states, “Thus, from a theological point of view, we can emphasize that what we should

strive for is not technology instead of humanity, but technology for humanity.” (Henriksen).

Technology should be seen as an aid to improve human life and our existence. Technology has

served that very purpose for hundreds of years and has proven to be very successful in making

human existence easier, more productive, and arguably greatly improving the quality of human

existence. Transhumanism would ultimately connect the technology replacing humanity and

therefore push humanity farther away from its original position of technology assisting humanity.
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In the transhumanist community, there is a strive and priority for technology instead of humanity.

Technology is the main focus that will replace “natural” humans. Replacing humans with

posthumans will start to develop a society that only knows eternal life. This eternal life would

take place in the body of A.I because robotic bodies would survive longer than human bodies.

Eternal life may seem like a dream come true but there are real and potentially severe

consequences that need consideration. Human life is given very special meaning granted from a

limited time on this Earth. Without that limit of time, urgency becomes nonexistent. Without

urgency, humans are handed an excuse to do nothing. There is no need to travel, see, and

understand the world around them. If humans are capable of compatibility with artificial

intelligence, superhuman qualities like perfect health are on the table as well. If perfect health is

possible, is there a need for the consumption of food? Is there a need for fuel when perfect health

is taking care of you? Without the need for food consumption for energy, education for a smarter

brain, or a time limit on human life, there is potentially no excitement left in one’s life. The

seemingly endless little tedious tasks that we perform on an everyday basis are what give

humans emotions like boredom, curiosity, and excitement. These emotions give life meaning and

when these emotions are stripped, what do humans have left? Although these factors may seem

like nothing in comparison to eternal life, serious consideration is necessary because these

emotions make us human.

After reading many articles about transhumanism, there are clear reasons why many

people can be drawn into the transhumanism agenda. However, one extremely valid point to

remember is that all technology is controllable by someone. The time may come in the very near

future when companies develop software that makes transhumanism a reality. Companies that

create technology are likely able to control their software. Within the past two decades, a burst of
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technological advancements such as software development has become a highly noted topic of

interest. Mere thoughts and dreams of inhuman capabilities are slowly presenting themselves in

human existence through transhumanism. Although many interesting concepts are attached to

this idea of surpassing current physical and mental limitations, there is no doubt that much

consideration is needed. As of now, being able to transcend life is not something that human

beings are capable of doing. No matter the case, I still believe that living an eternal life is

morally and spiritually wrong due to many factors such as the opposition to the salvation of

Christ, political agenda usage, and the fading of human emotions. If transhumanism was to arise,

societies will be torn apart from the formation of humans and posthumans. Posthumans will be

worshipped over humans and therefore “natural” humans will lose their value. Humanity should

be able to use technology to support productivity and make life easier. The idea of using

technology instead of humans will undoubtedly create chaos like never before between people,

creating tyrannical governments, and religious beliefs. Transhumanism will lead to the separation

of the world, one posthuman at a time. Overall, transhumanism will remain a very controversial

and intriguing topic over the coming decade. As beneficial as technology is, there is a dark side

that can yield horrific results for humans. The use of technology to transform humans into digital

beings is diving head first into the unknown and inviting a global catastrophe that the world is

not ready for. Civilization should maintain using technology as a lifeless asset rather than a

means to an end for the human population.

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Work Cited

Michael N. Tennison, Moral Transhumanism: The Next Step, The Journal of Medicine and

Philosophy: A Forum for Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine, Volume 37, Issue 4,

August 2012, Pages 405–416, https://doi.org/10.1093/jmp/jhs024

Green, Brian Patrick. “Transhumanism and Roman Catholicism: Imagined and Real Tensions.”

Taylor & Francis, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2015, Pages 187-201

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14746700.2015.1023528.

Benedikter, Roland, and Katja Siepmann. “‘Transhumanism’: A New Global Political Trend?”

Taylor & Francis, Volume 59, Issue 1, July 2016, Pages 49-59

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/05775132.2015.1123574.

Henriksen, Jan‐Olav. “Is a Finite Life Such a Bad Idea? Transhumanism and Theological

Anthropology.” Dialog: A Journal of Theology, vol. 54, no. 3, Sept. 2015, pp. 280–88.

EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.ezproxy.callutheran.edu/10.1111/dial.12189.