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Author: J. Benjamin Hurlbut
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3658110449
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 379
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Book Description
Humans have always imagined better futures. From the desire to overcome death to the aspiration to dominion over the world, imaginations of the technological future reveal the commitments, values, and norms of those who construct them. Today, the human future is thrown into question by emerging technologies that promise radical control over human life and elicit corollary imaginations of human perfectibility. This interdisciplinary volume assembles scholars of science and technology studies, sociology, philosophy, theology, ethics, and history to examine imaginations of technological progress that promises to transcend the constraints of human body and being. Attending in particular to transhumanist and posthumanist visions, the volume breaks new ground by exploring their utopian and eschatological dimensions and situating them within a broader context of ideas, institutions, and practices of innovation. The volume invites specialists and general readers to explore the stakes of contemporary imaginations of technological innovation as a source of progress, a force of social and historical transformation, and as the defining essence of human life.
Author: J. Benjamin Hurlbut
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3658110449
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 379
Get Book Here
Book Description
Humans have always imagined better futures. From the desire to overcome death to the aspiration to dominion over the world, imaginations of the technological future reveal the commitments, values, and norms of those who construct them. Today, the human future is thrown into question by emerging technologies that promise radical control over human life and elicit corollary imaginations of human perfectibility. This interdisciplinary volume assembles scholars of science and technology studies, sociology, philosophy, theology, ethics, and history to examine imaginations of technological progress that promises to transcend the constraints of human body and being. Attending in particular to transhumanist and posthumanist visions, the volume breaks new ground by exploring their utopian and eschatological dimensions and situating them within a broader context of ideas, institutions, and practices of innovation. The volume invites specialists and general readers to explore the stakes of contemporary imaginations of technological innovation as a source of progress, a force of social and historical transformation, and as the defining essence of human life.
Author: David Roden
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317592328
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 220
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Book Description
We imagine posthumans as humans made superhumanly intelligent or resilient by future advances in nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science. Many argue that these enhanced people might live better lives; others fear that tinkering with our nature will undermine our sense of our own humanity. Whoever is right, it is assumed that our technological successor will be an upgraded or degraded version of us: Human 2.0. Posthuman Life argues that the enhancement debate projects a human face onto an empty screen. We do not know what will happen and, not being posthuman, cannot anticipate how posthumans will assess the world. If a posthuman future will not necessarily be informed by our kind of subjectivity or morality the limits of our current knowledge must inform any ethical or political assessment of that future. Posthuman Life develops a critical metaphysics of posthuman succession and argues that only a truly speculative posthumanism can support an ethics that meets the challenge of the transformative potential of technology.
Author: Michio Kaku
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0385530811
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 456
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Book Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The renowned theoretical physicist and national bestselling author of The God Equation details the developments in computer technology, artificial intelligence, medicine, space travel, and more, that are poised to happen over the next century. “Mind-bending…. [An] alternately fascinating and frightening book.” —San Francisco Chronicle Space elevators. Internet-enabled contact lenses. Cars that fly by floating on magnetic fields. This is the stuff of science fiction—it’s also daily life in the year 2100. Renowned theoretical physicist Michio Kaku considers how these inventions will affect the world economy, addressing the key questions: Who will have jobs? Which nations will prosper? Kaku interviews three hundred of the world’s top scientists—working in their labs on astonishing prototypes. He also takes into account the rigorous scientific principles that regulate how quickly, how safely, and how far technologies can advance. In Physics of the Future, Kaku forecasts a century of earthshaking advances in technology that could make even the last centuries’ leaps and bounds seem insignificant.
Author: Armin Grunwald
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000346420
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 354
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Book Description
The boundaries between inanimate technology and the realm of the living become increasingly blurred. Deeper and deeper technological interventions into living organisms are possible, covering the entire spectrum of life from bacteria to humans. Simultaneously, digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) enable increasingly autonomous technologies. Inanimate technologies such as robots begin to show characteristics of life. Contested issues pop up, such as the dignity of life, the enhancement of animals for human purposes, the creation of designer babies, and the granting of robot rights. The book addresses the understanding of the ongoing dissolution of the life/technology borders, the provision of ethical guidance for navigating research and innovation responsibly, and the philosophical reflection on the meaning of the current shifts. It offers three specific perspectives for understanding the challenges and providing orientation. First, the dissolution of the boundaries between technology and life is analyzed and reflected from both sides. Second, the search for orientation is not restricted to ethics but also involves philosophy of technology and of nature, as well as anthropology. Finally, instead of restricting the analysis to specific areas of life, e.g., bacteria or animals, the book presents a comprehensive look at the entire spectrum of living organisms—bacteria and viruses, plants, animals and humans—and robots as possible early forms of emerging technical life.
Author: Armin Grunwald
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 111934087X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 240
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Book Description
The book investigates the meaning of RRI if little or no valid knowledge about consequences of innovation and technology is available. It proposes a hermeneutical turn to investigate narratives about possible futures with respect to their contemporary meaning instead of regarding them as anticipations of the future.
Author: William H. U. Anderson
Publisher: Vernon Press
ISBN: 1648890865
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 350
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Book Description
Technology is growing at an exponential rate vis-à-vis humanity’s ability to control it. Moreover, the numerous ethical issues that technology raises are also troubling. These statements, however, may be alarmist—since Telus would tell us “The Future is Friendly”. The Modernist vision of the future was utopic, for instance Star Trek of the 1960s. But postmodern views, such as are found in Blade Runner 2049, are dystopic. Theology is in a unique interdisciplinary position to deal with the many issues, pro and con, that technology raises. Even theologians like Origen in the third century and Aquinas in the thirteenth century made forays into Artificial Intelligence and surrounding issues (they just didn’t know it at the time). Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Transhumanism raise questions about what it means to be human. What is consciousness? What is soul? What are life and death? Can technology really save us and give us eternal life? Theology is in a unique position to handle these questions and issues. This book also has practical applications in terms of ecclesiology (church) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic—both in terms of what it means to be a church and in terms of the sacraments or ordinances. Is there such a thing as a “Virtual Church” or must we gather physically to constitute one? Are Baptism and Communion legitimate if one is not physically in a church building but are “online”? This book struggles with these and many other questions which will help the scholar or reader make up their own minds, however tentatively.
Author: Arvin M. Gouw
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1498584144
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 489
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Book Description
"In this book, the contributors examine how various religious traditions engage with transhumanism and its vision for the future"--
Author: Armin Grunwald
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1035310686
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 495
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Book Description
This Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of technology assessment (TA) practices, theories, methods and cultures across the globe. Highlighting the significant influence of rapidly changing technology on human life and development, it examines diverse perspectives on how TA can be developed to better meet the challenges of the future. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.
Author: John H. Evans
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520297431
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 238
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Book Description
"Academics have long claimed that the relationship between religion and science concerns knowledge of the physical world, and that conflict ensues because religion has one way of knowing and science another. For example, it is claimed that to find the age of the Earth religious people look to holy scripture and scientists look at the age of rocks. This book shows that this is indeed true among the elites who focus on this debate. However, contrary to the assumptions of elites and public discourse in general, that same relationship and conflict does not exist between religious citizens and science. This book shows that regular religious people in the U.S. are at most in conflict over a few fact claims with science, and that this limited conflict does not lead to conflict with scientific claims writ large. More importantly, American religion has changed since the 1960s, de-emphasizing knowledge claims about the physical world, and becoming more focused on social relationships and thus morality. This book shows that any religion and science debate in the public is not about scientific claims about nature, such as the age of the Earth, but rather about morality - and opposition to the morality implicitly promoted by scientists"--Provided by publisher.
Author: Hava Tirosh-Samuelson
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 900438121X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 356
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Book Description
This anthology of original essays reflects on the future of Jewish philosophy in light of the Library of Contemporary Jewish Philosophers (Brill, 2013-2018). The volume assesses the strengths of Jewish philosophy, explores the place of Jewish philosophy within the Western academy as a critique of and contribution to the discipline of philosophy, and showcases the relevance of Jewish philosophy to contemporary Jewish culture. The volume argues that Jewish philosophy is more vibrant, diverse, and culturally significant than its public image implies. Special attention is paid to the interdisciplinary nature of Jewish philosophy, the institutional settings for generating Jewish philosophy, and the contribution of philosophizing to contemporary Jewish self-understanding.
