Transhumanism as a positional good, economic inequality, and a response from Christian ethics

Abstract

Ethical responses to transhumanism, even from secular points of departure, often use religious language in debating the merits of discussion, and phrases such as ‘playing God’ or ‘hubris’ are not rare. Having Christian ethics and theology as one of the respondents to the ethical and moral issues that are raised by biotechnological developments such as transhumanism, is therefore perhaps easier than in other ethical concerns. In this contribution, the discourse on transhumanism will be approached by defining it in economic terms as a positional good. The focus will further be on the notion of economic inequality, and why it should matter in an ethical discussion on transhumanism, particularly from the perspective of Christian ethics. In making this case, the notion of solidarity will especially be drawn on as articulated in liberation theology as a theological resource. Social community is part and parcel of the Christian moral imperative and, as such, within the context of the discussion on economic inequality and transhumanism, the theological theme of solidarity forms an integral part of responding. Contribution: This article aims to contribute to the Christian ethical discussion on transhumanism by including an economic definition of transhumanism and situating the discussion within the field of liberation theology. The contribution also lies in centring the ethical issues around the theological theme of human solidarity and social community as a Christian moral imperative.

Keywords

• transhumanism
• positional good
• inequality
• solidarity
• bioethics