Transhumanism and Roman Catholicism (Slides)

5/7/2014 Myths and Reality Roman Catholicism and Transhumanism Brian Patrick Green Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and School of Engineering Santa Clara University 10 May 2014 Something Wrong? The previous assertions seem to contradict, which may mean there is a problem in A. Knowledge – transhumanists don’t actually know much about Christianity B. Interpretation – they know Christianity, but misunderstand it C. Politics – transhumanists know and understand Christianity but are misrepresenting it to use it as a political opponent D. Categorization – Christianity is too diverse to qualify as one category Eight Points Myth 1: The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) materially opposes life extension Myth 2: The RCC conceptually opposes life extension Myth 3: The RCC opposes human genetic manipulation Myth 4: The RCC opposes letting people die Real Real Real Real Tension 1: The improbability of material immortality Tension 2: Justice, Access, Inequality, Attitude Tension 3: The impossibility of human omnipotence Tension 4: The dangers of pursuing Utopia At the February 1st Transhuman Visions Conference it was simultaneously asserted (though by different speakers) that 1. Christians oppose life extension because extending life will compete with their vision of otherworldly immortality 2. Once immortality becomes possible, then Christians won’t allow transhumans to die Let’s Clarify Things Bust some myths Find the real points of tension Suggest some new ideas Myth 1: The RCC Materially Opposes Life Extension What’s “materially oppose” mean? The RCC physically and actively opposes LE. If this were true, the RCC would want people to die, and the earlier the better. Catholic hospitals would not exist, nor any other Catholic entities which promote health and life extension. 1 5/7/2014 Truth This myth verges on being a straw man, except for the fact that some people seem to believe it. The Catholic Church is the largest NGO providing healthcare in the world, and depending on who is asked and how it’s calculated, may be the largest healthcare provider, period, with (for example) 26% of all the world’s healthcare facilities (PCPAHCW, 2010). Truth People seem to know the RCC is pro-life, but simultaneously think it is anti-lifeextension. While the categories are not necessarily coextensive, perhaps they should be. In other words, the RCC may do more to extend life than any other organization in the world. Myth 2: The RCC Conceptually Opposes Life Extension What’s “conceptually oppose” mean? The RCC opposes the idea of life extension. Were this true, the RCC would oppose those searching for cures to disease, degenerative disorders, and so on. Truth Once again, false. Plenty of research towards life extension is conducted or promoted by Catholics and Catholic organizations. It is in concurrence with what the RCC believes was Jesus' ministry on Earth. The only possible exception is that with the belief in an afterlife, the RCC does not see death as the ultimate evil. Loss of heaven is the ultimate evil, so if one loses temporal life to gain heavenly life, that is a worthy trade. Or, if one gains temporal life by losing heavenly life, that is a bad trade. But need extending temporal life and gaining heavenly life necessarily be mutually exclusive? Clearly not. Myth 3: The RCC Opposes Human Genetic Manipulation Meaning? If this were true then the RCC would oppose genetic therapy and enhancement for humans. Catholic hospitals would oppose gene therapy, and the RCC would oppose such research. Truth In 1930, Pope Pius XI in the encyclical letter Casti Conubii (66) stated: “What is asserted in favor of the social and eugenic ‘indication’ may and must be accepted, provided lawful and upright methods are employed within the proper limits.” In other words, the ends are sensible (though whether descriptively or prescriptively is not clear), but the means often are morally problematic. 2 5/7/2014 Truth Since then, the RCC teaching on genetic manipulation has been repeatedly specified, but nothing invalidates the general sense. Myth 4: The RCC Opposes Letting People Die If this were true, RC hospitals could not discontinue treatment on patients. Therapy is completely unproblematic and enhancement – though looked on with great wariness and skepticism – remains debatable. Truth This is not a problem in Catholic hospitals. Burdensome and futile treatments are not encouraged much less required. What will occasionally happen is that particular Catholics refuse to stop treatment on one over whom they have decisionmaking power. These are often familycentered problems masked by religion. Real Tension 1: The Improbability of Material Immortality The RCC is, I think, justifiably skeptical of material immortality. People have been peddling immortality for a long time. That it has not yet been achieved does not mean that it cannot be, only that it is improbable. Inductive strength is on the RCC’s side. With this long history to speak from, the RCC would remind us, for our own sakes, not to be gullible, and that lying is a sin. Real Tensions Real Tension 1: The Improbability of Material Immortality Real Tension 2: Justice, Access, Inequality, Attitude Real Tension 3: The Impossibility of Human Omnipotence Real Tension 4: The Dangers of Pursuing Utopia Real Tension 2: Justice, Access, Inequality, Attitude Justice: Every day thousands of deaths could easily prevented. The money going to RLE research could save lives now. Access: If RLE becomes available, it will only be affordable to the rich. Inequality: LE will exacerbate social inequality. Attitude: There is a potential for some to seek LE to avoid facing the reality of death, or to avoid thinking about God, judgment, etc. 3 5/7/2014 Real Tension 3: The Impossibility of Human Omnipotence The idea that humans can or should seek omnipotence has been mentioned in previous meetings and in H+ writings. Immortality requires omnipotence because so much power is already on the side of death. To defeat death, one must have greater power on the side of preserving life. Anthropotence I suggest “anthropotence” instead. This more modest measure can be applied to both individual and whole-species power. Among humans, anthropotence would measure relative power. The avg. human’s score would be 1/7,000,000,000. But in reality, some humans are much more powerful than others, whether by wealth, political influence, intelligence, or otherwise. Real Tension 4: The Dangers of Pursuing Utopia Utopia, being an infinite good, can justify any finite evil. Same problem with Heaven, but Christians are forbidden to “do evil that good may come of it” (Rom 3:8), while some other philosophies and worldviews do not have such scruples. Omnipotence Omnipotence requires not just being able to do everything. One must already be everything. One would need to be self-causing and selfexisting, among other things. God exists – that is what God does. God is the act of existing. Being outside of time, God contains no potential, no power – all of God’s power is already actualized. Therefore one cannot become omnipotent. One can only already be omnipotent. The concept simply cannot be applied to humans. Anthropotence and Kardashev It might help to compare anthropotence to Kardashev’s levels, where Type I civilizations control planetary scale energy, Type II solarscale, and Type III galactic scales. True omnipotence would be Type Infinity. Perhaps someday one human might control Type I or II levels of power (which would be quite impressive, yet still might not allow immortality), but before that, humanity as a whole might want to get past Type 0. Utopia and Dystopia If H+ utopia is an infinite good capable of justifying anything, then dystopia or extinction would be akin to infinite evils also capable of justifying anything to stop them. This presents major potential for conflict. The RCC has seen a few “utopian” regimes and they rarely turn out well. 4 5/7/2014 Dystopian Risks Existential risk should be a bigger concern to the H+ community. RISK = HARM x PROBABILITY For any unacceptable harm, whether human extinction or your own death, if the probability is non-zero, then the risk is too high. The Role of Theology Lastly, if transhumanists want to become like gods, they NEED to talk to theologians. Theology has been studying God or gods for a long time. Conclusion The sources of tension which transhumanists have raised with Christianity may not be the real sources of tension. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with extending human life. But there may be some very wrong associated problems. Clarifying these will be of benefit to both Christianity and transhumanism. Thank You You might not think theology has an object, but if you are trying to become gods, then you are trying to give theology an object. We appreciate your efforts and gladly offer our advice. 5