Scientism and Transhumanism

Last time we introduced the question – is technology completely neutral? Many would argue that it’s all about how you use it, not the tech (device) itself.

Well, in a certain sense, this is true. But we may be forgetting something important. Any use of technology actually has consequences or results.

Author Neil Postman wrote: “A new medium does not add something” – in other words, it does not simply add something, like 2+2:

A new medium does not add something; it changes everything. … That is why we must be cautious about technological innovation. The consequences of technological change are always vast, often unpredictable and largely irreversible.

Neil Postman

A little more than 20 years ago, we discovered that we could carry a computer connected to the internet combined with a phone all the time. The iPhone hit the market about 15 years ago. And the world changed completely – even for people that don’t use a smartphone.

If “everyone” is using a new technological device, or it seems to solve a problem, or if it’s fun, we often adopt it without thinking anymore. We may think about how we use it, but sometimes we simply never ask the important questions about if we should be using it at all. In fact, it’s possible that we think it would be bad – a crime – a sin – not to have the same type of device that everyone else has!

Not only should we carefully evaluate how we use these devices, we should evaluate the devices themselves. How are they changing us, and the world around us? Which changes are good, and which are bad?

One of the biggest innovations from the past 100 years is digital technology in general. We can share images, movies, and other information around the world, simply using numbers transmitted through cables or even through the air.

We have machines that can collect massive amounts of information. Systems that can categorize and search for information, such as Google, Machines that can learn: artificial intelligence.

And now people are asking – where is this all going to lead? May we someday see completely artificial people? Computers that think as well as we do, or better? Of course, computers are faster than we are in certain areas, but the human brain has yet to be duplicated.

Review: The Christian Perspective vs “Scientism”

We should remember that, as Christians, we see technology from an entirely different perspective than the world, because we know that we have a God-given purpose.

We know that God is Creator, the source of all truth. We depend on Him. We know that our purpose comes from Him – to glorify Him, to enjoy Him. We know that humans are fallen creatures, sinners, but that there is salvation in Jesus Christ. We know that those who do not belong to Christ are headed for hell, and those who are in Christ have eternal life.

The world imagines a world that somehow came into existence from nothing, or from itself. Not very scientific, but that’s what many believe. They have to imagine a universe without God. Everything “just is”, there is no purpose, and so we can try to create our own. Scientism says that there is nothing real or important beyond what we can see or detect with our senses or our machines.

And so, salvation must come from within the world itself. And that’s a problem. Because we cannot use a fallen, cursed universe to save a fallen, cursed universe. It’s like trying to fight a fire with a flamethrower.

Without a transcendent God, there really is no good or evil. And so this worldly point of view leads to all kinds of selfishness and abuse.

But people create a poor copy of the true religion, because we were created to know God.

And so, they reason, perhaps technology is god. Maybe we will arrive at salvation and eternal life through technology. But what salvation is, what morality is, well, that depends on the person.

So how are we going to use all this technology?

Transhumanism

That leads us to transhumanism. “Trans” is Latin, meaning across, beyond, on the other side. As in transport – trans-portare – to carry. The idea of transhumanism is that we go beyond humanity as we know it. Augmenting humanity.

The Olymic motto is “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together” (yes, that last part was added in 2021). That’s the idea of transhumanism – but specifically using various types of technology.

There are some amazing examples of bionic technology today. Someone who has lost a leg can have an amazing prosthetic leg, that looks almost real. In fact, that artificial leg could be stronger in some ways than the original!

And we thank God for modern technology! That is the Creation Mandate – “have dominion”.

Now, let’s imagine that two artificial legs are stronger and faster than the originals. An athlete could actually cut off his original legs and put on these bionic legs, and win the race (setting aside the rules of the competition for the moment). Transhumanism.

So stop for a moment – what would you think if an athlete did something like this? Augmented or changed his body in this way, to become “better”. What advantages and problems might be involved? What if future technology could solve some of those problems?

Maybe a student could connect her brain to a computer, and have instant access to new information.

And now we’ve gone “beyond” humanity. Transhumanism.

But let’s look at some of the problems with this, thinking of the above examples.

The human body is incredibly complex. No matter how sophistcated those prosthetics or augmented brains may be, they still may lose something that was originally there, in the body designed by God. In other words, this is not the same as moving faster because you’re in a car. The intent is to change what humans actually are.

Another problem. How did the bionic man get his legs? Did he have more money than I did? Does his cousin work in the factory? Does he come from another country, where this is legal? Is he a member of the “acceptable” political party?

From a biblical perspective, we agree that humans actually have “defects” because we live in a fallen world. It’s good, and wise, to help those who suffer (as we talked about earlier). And that’s why we give the soldier who lost a leg a prosthetic. But we always remember that technology will never provide complete salvation.

It’s not wrong to have compassion, and to try to minimize the effects of the Fall – sin and the curse. But only when we remember where perfect and complete salvation comes from. Because without Christ, anything we offer to anyone is only temporary.

But transhumanism says what the serpent said to the woman in the garden – “you will be like God”. It says the same as what they said at the Tower of Babel – “let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves”.

We deny God’s purpose. We deny that we depend on Him. And we create our own “truth” (start at the beginning to learn about these and other important foundations). See how important those three things are?

Transhumanism is a big topic – let’s continue with it next time.