Archive 2006
This is an archive of articles that Lincoln Cannon published in 2006. Monthly archives for June 2006, July 2006, September 2006, October 2006, and December 2006 are available. And a full archive of all articles that Lincoln has published since 2005 is also available. You may also search for articles and other content that Lincoln has published on any of his websites.
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The Trouble With Transhumanism Antagonists
In the article, “The Trouble With Transhumanism”, author Wesley Smith demonstrates a common weakness among Transhumanism antagonists: lack of a convincing understanding of Transhumanism, as demonstrated by appeals to straw-man representations of the ideology, inaccurate interpretations of its proponents’ statements, and unjustified slippery-slope criticisms of its effects. Despite his credentials, ... -
Are Transhumanism Critics Listening to Themselves?
Another common weakness among Transhumanism antagonists, particularly those that are religious, is that they overlook how their arguments apply to their own ideologies. A recent example is the article, entitled “Listening to the Transhumanists,” by Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Mohler casts Transhumanists as the most ... -
Less Radical Religion
In his 18 July 2006 article, “Radical Religion,” Jamais Cascio of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies reflects on the results of a USA Today poll of religious adherence in the USA. He observes that the percentage of persons identifying themselves with “no religion” is among the top few ... -
Does Active Faith in Physical Salvation Matter?
Mormons generally describe salvation as consisting of two parts: physical and spiritual. Simply put, physical salvation is immortality, and spiritual salvation is eternal life with God. A common modern view is that physical salvation is free through the grace of God, whereas spiritual salvation requires a combination of grace and ... -
Everything Transhumanism Critics Write Is Wrong
Add hasty generalization to the bag of tricks from which Transhumanism antagonists are conjuring their criticisms. In a recent opinion piece published by the North Country Gazette, Pamela Hennessy, founder of the Partnership for Medical Ethics Reform, described Transhumanists in the following terms: “To be clear: Transhumanists are people who ... -
What Is Faith in God?
What is faith? Is it something irrational? No. Something unprovable? No, again. Is it something that makes us religious? Not necessarily. Faith is will. It’s that simple. Will is not irrational. Moreover, it’s not even rational. But rather it’s the basis of that which is rational. We posit rationality: a ... -
Transhumanists Are Not Oppressive Cave Dwellers
Author and lawyer Wesley J. Smith has published weak criticisms of Transhumanism before. Recently, he posted another article criticizing Transhumanism as follows: Transhumanism is incorrect in its position that modern humans have become fundamentally different from their ancestors. Transhumanism is arrogantly presumptuous in its position that one should impose her ... -
Merry Christmas, Transhumanists!
My wife knows at least two things about the Christmas presents that she will receive in the morning. First, she will receive a firewire. And second, she does not want a firewire. But she doesn’t really know what a firewire is yet. It began as a new word in the ...