Book Review: Transhumanism and the Image of God by Jacob Shatzer

Introduction

As transhumanism and transhumanist ideals become more and more prevalent, Christians will continue to be called upon for thoughtful analysis. Jacob Shatzer provides such an analysis in Transhumanism and the Image of God. While this book doesn’t dive deep into the technical details of transhumanist scientific achievements and goals, it offers a sobering look into the underlying philosophy behind transhumanist technologies, as well as the influence of these technologies on society as a whole.  

Summary

Before Shatzer even introduces transhumanism to the reader, he outlines how technology is never neutral. Instead, different technologies have capabilities to shape people in different ways, and by extension, technologies have the power to shape entire cultures. According to Shatzer, if Christians want to effectively respond to transhumanism, it is essential for them to understand this shaping power of technology. But this is not just about knowledge, it is about action. It requires us to be intentional about what technology we accept and why.

With that foundation, Shatzer begins his discussion of transhumanism. As a philosophy, it is entirely naturalistic. Instead of viewing human beings as a static category, rather, it emphasizes a constant process of enhancing and transforming the capabilities of human beings. In this introduction to the movement, Shatzer doesn’t just summarize transhumanism. Instead, he reproduces and responds to the official Transhumanist Declaration point by point.

Shatzer then dives into the first characteristic of transhumanism: morphological freedom, which is the demand for complete personal autonomy. This means transhumanism requires that anyone should have a right to alter their being in any way they desire, including unnecessary physical and mental alterations. To put it another way, if a technology is available, anyone should have the right to use it. This, according to Shatzer, ultimately results in a sub-Christian view of human beings.

The next characteristic is augmented reality. Transhumanism incorporates augmented reality – the process of integrating virtual graphics with the experience of the actual world – in order to expand the degree to which humans can be affected by technology. Shatzer’s challenge, however, is multifaceted. Ultimately, augmented reality fails to adequately guard against its intrinsic capability to alter one’s experience of reality, which leads to dangerous outcomes. Unfortunately, the culture is largely already on the road to full augmented reality given the incorporation of smart accessories into everyday life.

Artificial intelligence and mind cloning may be an inevitable result in the transhumanist movement. Throughout the first half of this discussion, Shatzer introduces the different types of technologies leading to varying degrees of artificial intelligence before turning the discussion over to mind cloning and the varying processes proposed to transfer one’s mind onto a digital platform. Both artificial intelligence and mind cloning provide the ability to truly transcend the limitations of the human mind and body. Shatzer warns not only of the dangers of this stage of transhumanism, but also of the degree to which the culture is already becoming accustomed to them.

Following discussion of the various levels of transhumanist development, Shatzer turns the discussion toward the impact of transhumanism on our experience of reality. For example, how one engages within virtual reality has the potential to influence how one interacts within the regular world. This is because the brain has the capacity to reshape itself based on stimuli – virtual or actual. Ultimately, however, engagement within the virtual world may function as an escape from the real world. Theologically, Shatzer emphasizes the importance of the incarnation in response to this outcome. It is not inconsequential that Jesus took on human flesh. The fact that humans seek to escape the limitations of the human body is a consequence of the fall. It is the result of a sense of alienation. The remedy, according to Shatzer, is to redevelop the practice of storytelling to break down the walls that alienate us from one another.

Another way in which transhumanism alters our experience of reality is by globalizing our experience of local places. Rather than focusing on and being engaged in the activities in one’s local environment, the universal connectedness through technology functions as a means to escape the local environment. The reasons for doing this may vary, but Shatzer issues a caution for Christians. God created us and located us in particular places, and as a result, we ought to tend to our local environments – similar to how Adam and Eve were called to tend to the garden of Eden. As Christians, we ought to guard against the tendency to use technology to cultivate our relationships in the virtual world at the expense of relationships in our local world.

Beyond the formation of relationships through technology, Shatzer also describes how we are forming relationships with technology. To put it simply, the mere fact that we treat robots as though they are people means that we truly do have relationships with technology. Furthermore, the way we interact with technology influence what we expect from our human interactions – which is problematic considering how dysfunctional human relationships can be at times. While interactions with robots may be extreme, even interaction using technology – such as social media – has been demonstrated to have negative affects on the ability to interact with others. Ultimately, technology has given us the ability to customize our interactions to our own liking, thus limiting our ability to relate to others on a personal level. Shatzer’s antidote to this phenomenon is the implementation of a culture of the table. The continual meeting with others to share a meal is the essence of communion, the gathering together of family and friends.

In the end, however, technology has a powerful tendency to shape who we are. The popularity of social media all but demands that everyone has a virtual identity. In some cases, maintaining this virtual identity is even viewed as a higher priority than real experiences; it is not enough to merely achieve a goal, the achievement must be shared and celebrated on the internet in order to count. In the most extreme cases, we adapt who we are to cater to the desires of our internet following. In response, Shatzer points out how this is antithetical to the Christian notion of self. The Christian’s identity is in Christ, which comes with a spirit of humility and wisdom.

Shatzer closes the book by discussing practical steps we can take to avoid being trapped in this never-ending cycle of technological engagement – a phenomenon he refers to as “technological escapism.” The steps are deceptively simple. Eat food with others. Take time for a Sabbath rest. Play games with others. In all this, the key is intentionality. As Christians, no matter the technology around us, we ought to intentionally interact with and cultivate relationships with those around us.

Final Thoughts

Transhumanism and the Image of God may not be the typical apologetics book, but it fills a necessary spot in the Christian’s library. While the topic of technology and the Christian life is often neglected, and the challenges of transhumanism are often ignored, Shatzer tackles them with full force. Every Christian should be familiar with the contents of this book, not just in preparation for the future challenges of transhumanism, but also to become more cognizant of the present challenges facing the Christian life from the technologies we use in our everyday lives.

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