Transhumanism – Old Challenges in a New Garb?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31436/jia.v21i2.1257Keywords:
Transhumanism, Posthumanism, Singularity, AI, Body-Mind-Soul-Complex, IslamAbstract
Transhumanism, a philosophical, cultural and political movement, holds that human development is still in an early phase to be radically changed by technology. Singularity describes the point in time where man and machine (or artificial intelligence, AI) will merge, giving way to unforeseen possibilities. Transhumanist visions entail the annihilation of any distinction between the biological and the mechanical or between the physical and virtual reality. This paper critically analyses transhumanism and identifies it as a conglomerate of old ideas in technologically-backed dystopian garb, a substitute religion (Ersatzreligion) without the Creator. It discusses the intellectual fallacies of the underlying ideas of this concept, while pinpointing possible repercussions on contemporary society. The discussion will focus on the ideas of enhancement, AI and the body-mind-soul complex from an Islamic perspective, giving relevant answers to the main tenets of transhumanism and the challenges it may pose.
References
Benedikter, Roland, and Katja Siepmann. “Transhumanism, A new global political trend? Challenge 59, no. 1 (2016): 47-59
Bostrom, Nils. The Transhumanist FAQ. World Transhumanist Association, 2003.
Bouzenita, Anke Iman. “The most dangerous idea?” Islamic deliberations on transhumanism.” Darulfunun Ilahiyat 29, no. 2 (2019): 201-228. https://doi.org/10.26650/di.2018.29.2.0031
Can, Seyithan. “Critique of Transhumanism's Concept of Humans from the Perspective of Islamic Thought.” Ilahiyat Studies 14, no. 1 (2023): 107-131. https://doi.org/10.12730/is.1274636
De Grey, Aubrey. “Radical Life Extension: Technological Aspects.” In Religion and the Implications of Radical Life Extension, edited by Calvin Mercer and Derek F. Maher, 13-24. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Devlin, Matthew. Cultivating Better Brains: Transhumanism and its Critics on the Ethics of Enhancement Via Brain-computer Interfacing. University of Western Ontario, 2014.
Franco, Alexandra M. “Symposium Article: Transhuman Babies and Human Pariahs: Genetic Engineering, Transhumanism, Society and the Law.” Children’s Legal Rights Journal 37, no. 2 (2017): 191.
Gardner, P., and Wray, B. “From Lab to Living Room: Transhumanist Imaginaries of Consumer Brain Wave Monitors.” Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media, and Technology 3 (2013). doi:10.7264/N3GQ6VP4
Hefner, Philip. “The Animal that Aspires to be an Angel: The Challenge of Transhumanism.” Dialog: A Journal of Theology 48, no. 2 (September 2009): 158-167
Hejazi, Sara. “Humankind. The Best of Molds’—Islam Confronting Transhumanism.” Sophia 58, no. 4 (2020): 677-688
Huxley, Julian. “Transhumanism.” Ethics in Progress, 6, no. 1 (2015): 12-16. doi: 10.14746/eip.2015.1.2. Reprinted from Huxley, Julian. New Bottles for New Wine (London: Chatto and Windus, 1957)
Jackson, Roy. Muslim and Supermuslim. The Quest for the Perfect Being and Beyond. Palgrave Studies in the Future of Humanity and its Successors (PSFHS), 2020.
Jensen, Steven J. “The Roots of Transhumanism.” Nova et Vetera, English Edition, 12, no. 2 (2014).
Habermas, Jürgen. The Future of Human Nature. Polity Press, 2003.
Hashim, A.T., Albayati, A.S., Nazal, E. “Heart Memory and Feelings. In Heart Transplantation edited by H.T. Hashim, N. Ahmed, G. Faggian, M. Manyalich, F. Onorati. Springer, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17311-0_17.
Kam, Hureyre. “New Bottles for Old Wine. On Playing God: Post- and Transhumanism from the Perspective of Kalam.” Journal of Posthuman Studies 1 (2023), 24-50. https://doi.org/10.5325/jpoststud.7.1.0024
Kurzweil, Ray. “Reinventing Humanity: The Future of Human-Machine Intelligence.” The Futurist (March-April 2006): 39-40.
Mavani, Hamid. “God’s Deputy. Islam and Transhumanism.” In Transhumanism and the Body. The World Religions Speak, edited by Calvin Mercer and Derek F. Maher. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
Murad, Abdul Hakeem (Timothy Winter). “Transhumanism and Islam”, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOWrrRpQVco Accessed 5/11/2018
Musa, Aisha Y. “A Thousand Years, Less Fifty: Toward a Quranic View of Extreme Longevity,” In Religion and the Implications of Radical Life Extension, edited by Calvin Mercer and Derek F. Maher.
Ong, Kok-Leong and Fatima Samar. “ChatGPT – Sentient AI or singularity. How close are we?” https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/acumen/ChatGPT_sentientorsingularity (2023)
Pilsch, Andrew. Transhumanism. Evolutionary Futurism and the Human Technologies of Utopia. University of Minneapolis Press, 2017).
Schneider, Susan. “Future Minds: Transhumanism, Cognitive Enhancement and the Nature of Persons.” University of Pennsylvania: Neuroethics Publications, 2008.
Setia, Adi. “Freeing Maqasid and Maslaha from surreptitious utilitarianism.” Islamic Sciences, 14, no. 2 (2016): 127 -158
Sorgner, Stefan Lorenz. Transhumanismus. Die gefährlichste Idee der Welt”!? Herder, 2016.
Thomas, Alexander. “Super Intelligence and Eternal Life Transhumanisms: Faithful Follow It Blindly into a Future for the Elite”. https://theconversation.com/super-intelligence-and-eternal-life-transhumanisms-faithful-follow-it-blindly-into-a-future-for-the-elite-78538
Wehling, Elisabeth. Politisches Framing: Wie eine Nation sich ihr Denken einredet - und daraus Politik macht. Ullstein, Edition Medienpraxis, 2018.
Zhang X, Ma Z, Zheng H, Li T, Chen K, Wang X, Liu C, Xu L, Wu X, Lin D, Lin H. “The combination of brain-computer interfaces and artificial intelligence: applications and challenges”. Ann Transl Med 8, no. 11 (2020): 712. doi: 10.21037/atm.2019.11.10, 1-6.
