Transhumanism and Transcendence Christian Hope in an Age of Technological Enhancement / Ronald Cole-Turner, editor.
Material type:
Item type | Current location | Call number | URL | Status | Date due | Barcode |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Electronic Book | UT Tyler Online Online | BT741.3 .T73 2011 (Browse shelf) | https://ezproxy.uttyler.edu/login?url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/10529/ | Available | muse889 |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Description based on print version record.
Reviews provided by Syndetics
CHOICE Review
This edited volume offers a collection of responses by Christian theologians to the transhumanism movement and its aspirations for finding technological means to indefinitely prolong life. Many of the essays are nuanced and subtle, and represent a range of responses to transhumanism. Several are critical, sometimes sharply so. Lutheran theologian Ted Peters critiques transhumanism for inadequately grasping the depths of human sinfulness and the extent to which new technologies may be used selfishly without regard for the common good. Feminist theologian J. Jeanine Thweatt-Bates examines some transhumanists' desire to transcend gender, finding in it a move away from specifically female bodies. Neuroscientist Michael Spezio critiques research connected to transhumanist ideals that seeks to blunt or modify emotions, noting the importance of emotions from both a neuroscientific and a theological perspective. But the appraisals are not wholly negative. Todd Daly notes the affinity between the transhumanist longing for immortality and Christian doctrines of the afterlife, a point made by Gerald McKenny as well. The diversity and quality of these contributions make the volume useful for those interested in the intersection of theological ethics and transhumanist ideals. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. G. R. Peterson South Dakota State UniversityAuthor notes provided by Syndetics
Ronald Cole-Turner holds the H. Parker Sharp Chair in Theology and Ethics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He is the editor of Design and Destiny: Jewish and Christian Perspectives on Human Germline Modification and coeditor of God and the Embryo: Religious Voices on Stem Cells and Cloning .
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