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Cyborg Buddha (Transhumanism and Religion)

Transhumanism seems to have nothing in common with religion.  Many transhumanists strongly stress the non-religious nature of their views.  They have a different attitude towards life and death and oppose the religious faith as an obstacle to the human progress.  But it is not entirely true.  Hauskeller (2016) iterates that transhumanism and religion have more in common with each other than with secular humanism. Most transhumanists do not believe in God but they “seek transcendence and liberation from a perceived unsatisfactory mere-animal condition of the human” and “promise salvation from the burden of our earthly woes and our morality” (165).  Transhumanists believe in salvation and eternity of life, with the help of technology.  They feel the urge to do everything in their power to stop the presently inevitable decline of human bodies and find a way to overcome human limitations and extend lifespan indefinitely.   

In reality, James Hughes, a sociologist and author of a book Cyborg Buddha, agrees with this notion as religious people want to overcome the limitations of the body and life forever.  He borrows from his experience of being a buddhist monk and promotes discussion of the impact that neuroscience and emerging neurotechnologies will have on happiness, spirituality, moral behavior and the exploration of meditational and ecstatic states of mind, and on the far side – immortality.  That brings comfort and psychological relief as much as any other religions do.

Works cited:

Cyborg Buddha.”  Rosen, Jonathan, The Buddhist Review Tricycle, Summer 2010, https://tricycle.org/magazine/cyborg-buddha/

Hauskeller, Michael. "Gods Rather than Cyborgs." Mythologies of Transhumanism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2016. 163-180.'

Images: 

Future Thinkers. “Cyborg Buddha.” Found, Future Thinkers,15 Apr 2016,

futurethinkers.org/cyborg-buddha-james-hughes-transhuman-enlightenment/.

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