Vortrag von Prof. Dr. Ron Cole-Turner

The Conflict over Transhumanism: Bioethics and the Challenge of the Technologies of Human Enhancement

18. Juni 2009

Description:  First, a brief overview of the technologies of human "enhancement" will be offered, focusing especially on efforts to increase human intelligence and lengthen the human lifespan. Second, the philosophical debate (pro and con) over the use of these technologies will be briefly summarized. Finally, it will be argued that neither side of the debate is likely to be persuasive to ordinary people. Therefore, the pro-enhancement side will "win," practically speaking.  If so, then the real question is how human beings might learn to live as human beings in a culture filled with possibilities for transformation of the self.  For that, a full range of cultural resources, including the spiritual dimension, will be needed.

Bio: Rev. Dr. Ronald Cole-Turner holds the H. Parker Sharp chair of theology and ethics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He received his doctorate in theology in 1983 from Princeton Theological Seminary. Rev. Dr. Cole-Turner's research relates theology to developments in science and technology, focusing on how genetics and biotechnology affect the meaning and future of human life. He is the author and editor of numerous articles and books, including Beyond Cloning: Religion and the Remaking of Humanity (2001), and Design and Destiny: Jewish and Christian Perspectives on Human Germline Modification (2008). Rev. Dr. Cole-Turner is active in a variety of professional societies, including as a vice president of the International Society for Science and Religion, and has served on several advisory boards, such as the Metanexus Institute and the John Templeton Foundation. He is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ where he has served various pastorates.