Religious scope
Exceeding every human measure evokes a reverence of something that might be bigger than mankind. Some people associated with transhumanism seem to have the feeling of something rising that is going beyond the human imagination and comprehension. Within the transhuman movement there are people that relate this feeling to a somewhat religious experience. Therefore, there are aspirations to develop religious or seemingly religious structures within it.
However, this trend also alarms many transhumanist thinkers who would then publish pleadings to defend transhumanism of religious appropriation. In the H+Magazine, a magazine created for discussing transhumanist ideas, Matthew Bailey argues that
However, this trend also alarms many transhumanist thinkers who would then publish pleadings to defend transhumanism of religious appropriation. In the H+Magazine, a magazine created for discussing transhumanist ideas, Matthew Bailey argues that
“preaching the Singularity is only going to cause others to see it as nothing but a shroud of delusion pulled over the eyes of its followers, a techno-cult preaching the Rapture of the Nerds, when this is absolutely not the case. The Singularity is a serious thing, and it demands serious study.”Analyzing Huxley’s quote (“I believe in transhumanism. (…) It will at last be consciously fulfilling its real destiny.”) we can see that transhumanism was initially coined in a somewhat religious context.
However, he admits that “the Singularity contains concepts that are ripe for use anyone wishing to create a religious ideology, whether they are doing so consciously or not.” (Bailey 2011)
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