Must We Die? Transhumanism, Religion, and the Fear of Death

Abstract

Herzfeld examines three technologies central to transhumanism—genetic modification, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence—considering the promises and limitations of each to either repair or replace the human body, with extreme longevity or immortality as the goal. The chapter critiques transhumanist hopes for immortality, outlining the limitations of current scientific knowledge and technological capabilities. Herzfeld calls for humility and caution in our use of these techniques, basing that call on the Orthodox Christian understanding of sin as rooted in our fear of death and on our propensity for magical thinking and uncritical exaggeration of our own powers, as explicated by Reinhold Niebuhr in his Gifford lectures.