[ExI] The pope vs transhumanism

[Anders Sandberg]

Isn't it nice to have a high status, well-read and consistent enemy to 
fight against? The pope spoke out against gay marriage because it 
threatens human essence:

> People dispute the idea that they have a nature, given to them by their bodily identity, that serves as a defining element of the human being. They deny their nature and decide that it is not something previously given to them, but that they make it for themselves. The manipulation of nature, which we deplore today where our environment is concerned, now becomes man's fundamental choice where he himself is concerned.

I ended up writing an essay analyzing the argument, showing how it links 
up with criticisms of transhumanism. Spending Christmas Eve arguing that 
the pope is wrong about metaphysics and ethics is quite fun, if tiring:

http://www.aleph.se/andart/archives/2012/12/benedict_vs_mirandola_how_gay_rights_and_transhumanism_are_related.html



-- 
Anders Sandberg
Future of Humanity Institute
Oxford University