Archive June 2010

Today, Philippe Verdoux of the IEET asked, “Will posthumans all be atheists?.” My first reaction was: “This is ridiculous, like an embryo asking whether humans will not believe in humans.” I think I even mumbled it out loud, although there was no one around to hear me. Could Philippe, like ... Read the article →

Do rituals save us? Are ordinances required for salvation or exaltation? Put differently, for those with less familiarity with religious language, are there desirable modes of existence (perhaps subsequent to death) that we cannot attain without engaging in particular rituals, perhaps performed by particularly authorized persons? For example, it is ... Read the article →

Transhumanists have been charged with hubris: the arrogance of playing God. As the argument goes, our aspirations are beyond moral bounds, our trust in human ability is unwarranted and dangerous, and we may even risk the wrath of some God that would punish us to rectify our attitude and put ... Read the article →

Today, I was browsing the results of the Pew Research Center survey of Americans’ expectations of life in 2050. There were a couple problems that jumped out at me. The first is that our expectations of technology are certainly too low in some areas. For example, only 42% think scientists ... Read the article →

In 2007, I read Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion. At the time, the New Atheists appeared newer than they now appear (although they were perhaps not so new even at that time). And they were frequently referenced in articles and discussions that crossed my path. Prior to reading Dawkins’ book, ... Read the article →

In Pope Benedict’s Holy Saturday address on 3 April of this year, he presented perspective on immortalism. He suggested that radical extension of life as we currently know it is not a cure for death. But rather a cure for death must “transform our lives from within” and “create a ... Read the article →