Transhumanism and the Technocratic Paradigm: Pope Francis's Laudato si as a Guide for Responsible Use of Technology for the Body
Anjola Onadipe, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI
Transhumanism is a technoscientific philosophy that desires to transform the human condition by exceeding limits in areas such as life span, physical ability, and cognition, by using technological means. While transhumanist visions vary, common ideas include applying tools from genetics, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence to reach a post-human state.[1] Transhumanism can be seen as an example of what Pope Francis calls the “technocratic paradigm” in his landmark encyclical Laudato si.[2] The technocratic paradigm refers to a pattern of human use of technology primarily aimed at asserting control over nature with little regard to the intrinsic value of God-given creation (including human beings). While transhumanism envisions achieving quasi-religious goals like transcendence and eternal life through technological means, it is rooted in a philosophy of the body that is in conflict with the beliefs held by many religious communities. Specifically, transhumanism undermines the value of humans as creatures created and loved by God and operates under philosophical commitments that bankrupt the body of intrinsic moral value. But despite the potential issues with transhumanism, the technological devices transhumanists might turn to are not bad in and of themselves and can be used to therapeutically improve people’s health. Humans have always had to discern when, how, and to what extent to integrate technology (or not). How then should religious communities and the biomedical enterprise engage with the phenomenon of transhumanism?
This essay proposes that while Laudato si is typically characterized as a commentary on care for the environment, it has implications on how we take care of the body and can serve as a guide for responsible use of technology. The encyclical calls people to restore a sense of teleology or transcendent ends for human and non-human creation. As multiple religious bioethicists have noted, modern biomedicine operates with ubiquitous yet understated philosophical approaches that see the body as without intrinsic moral value.[3] Thus, technological control of the body in and of itself often becomes the end goal of biomedicine. Instead of a fixation on control, Francis calls us to orient technology towards partaking in a “universal communion” with God. As Laudato si approaches its 10th anniversary in Spring 2025, it can serve as a guide for religious communities and biomedicine to think about the proper use of technology, including navigating the topic of transhumanism.
References:
[1]: Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (London: Duckworth, 2006).
[2]: Francis, Laudato Si’ (Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 2015).
[3]: Jeffrey Paul Bishop, The Anticipatory Corpse: Medicine, Power, and the Care of the Dying, Notre Dame Studies in Medical Ethics (Notre Dame, Ind: University of Notre Dame Press, 2011); Gerald P. McKenny, To Relieve the Human Condition: Bioethics, Technology, and the Body (Albany, N.Y: State University of New York Press, 1997).
This essay proposes that while Laudato si is typically characterized as a commentary on care for the environment, it has implications on how we take care of the body and can serve as a guide for responsible use of technology. The encyclical calls people to restore a sense of teleology or transcendent ends for human and non-human creation. As multiple religious bioethicists have noted, modern biomedicine operates with ubiquitous yet understated philosophical approaches that see the body as without intrinsic moral value.[3] Thus, technological control of the body in and of itself often becomes the end goal of biomedicine. Instead of a fixation on control, Francis calls us to orient technology towards partaking in a “universal communion” with God. As Laudato si approaches its 10th anniversary in Spring 2025, it can serve as a guide for religious communities and biomedicine to think about the proper use of technology, including navigating the topic of transhumanism.
References:
[1]: Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (London: Duckworth, 2006).
[2]: Francis, Laudato Si’ (Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 2015).
[3]: Jeffrey Paul Bishop, The Anticipatory Corpse: Medicine, Power, and the Care of the Dying, Notre Dame Studies in Medical Ethics (Notre Dame, Ind: University of Notre Dame Press, 2011); Gerald P. McKenny, To Relieve the Human Condition: Bioethics, Technology, and the Body (Albany, N.Y: State University of New York Press, 1997).