Transhumanist aspirations for accelerating insight: a philosophical and theological critique

Thesis

Transhumanism has been increasing in importance as a subject of interdisciplinary scholarship for philosophy and theology. In this thesis, I argue that the transhumanist aspiration to cognitive enhancement is not well founded due to the movement’s inadequate treatment of the related concepts of insight and understanding. Although understanding and insight have received at least some philosophical and theological exploration, little has been done to examine how these issues pertain to transhumanist aspirations. This thesis aims to address this omission. I develop this argument by presenting the analyses of cognition and its enhancement as presented by three representative transhumanists: Marvin Minsky, Ray Kurzweil, and Nick Bostrom. I present, in contrast to the transhumanist view, the philosophical perspectives of Bernard Lonergan and Michael Polanyi and the theological perspective of Thomas Aquinas. This thesis also draws from philosophical and psychological research on metaphor, narrative, and joint attention. I then analyse the transhumanist positions of Minsky, Kurzweil, and Bostrom in light of these philosophical and theological perspectives. The conclusion reached is that the transhumanist perspectives have an inadequate appreciation of insight and understanding, especially when contrasted with the alternative perspectives of Lonergan, Polanyi, and Aquinas. These inadequacies explain why three of the most articulate and philosophically sophisticated transhumanists fail. This thesis thus proposes a benchmark by which transhumanist accounts need to be assessed and raises ground for doubting the attractiveness of transhumanism generally. The philosophical and theological perspective sdiscussed also point toward an alternative conception of technologically enhancing human cognition that respects the full reality of insight and understanding.

Authors: Biggins, SP

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-koxwdpwxg
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: human enhancement; Ray Kurzweil; Thomas Aquinas; Bernard Lonergan; second-person relatedness; Aristotelian-thomism; insight; metaphor; Michael Polanyi; transhumanism; joint attention; Nick Bostrom; rmbodiment; artificial intelligence; cognitive enhancement; Marvin Minsky
• Subjects: Philosophical anthropology; Insight; Transhumanism--Religious aspects--Christianity; Transhumanism; Aristotelian-Thomism; Theology