Virtual Immortality - God, Evolution, and the Singularity in Post- and Transhumanism

Oliver Krüger

Published by transcript Verlag 2021

Virtual Immortality - God, Evolution, and the Singularity in Post- and Transhumanism

Oliver Krüger
Translated by: Ali Jones and Paul Knight
Funded by: University of Fribourg/Faculty of Humanities and Geisteswissenschaften International - Translation Funding for Work in the Humanities and Social Sciences from Germany

Volume 41 in the series Kulturen der Gesellschaft

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839450598

Overview
Contents

About this book

In recent years, ideas of post- and transhumanism have been popularized by novels, TV series, and Hollywood movies. According to this radical perspective, humankind and all biological life have become obsolete. Traditional forms of life are inefficient at processing information and inept at crossing the high frontier: outer space. While humankind can expect to be replaced by their own artificial progeny, posthumanists assume that they will become an immortal part of a transcendent superintelligence. Krüger's award-winning study examines the historical and philosophical context of these futuristic promises by Ray Kurzweil, Nick Bostrom, Frank Tipler, and other posthumanist thinkers.

Author / Editor information

Oliver Krüger is professor for the Study of Religions at Fribourg University (Switzerland). His Ph.D. which he completed in 2002 at the University of Bonn was awarded by the German Association for the History of Religions. He then researched rituals of the Wicca movement as a postdoc at the University of Heidelberg. This was followed by a project at Princeton University on funeral rituals in the United States. Since 2007, Krüger has been teaching and researching at Fribourg University, primarily on sociology of religion and new media and science in relation to religion. He also served as president of the Swiss Society for the Study of Religions.

Reviews

"Speculation about ›the end of the human being‹ and questions about human survival on this planet have been constantly gaining ground since the turn of the millennium. In his masterful analysis, Oliver Krüger introduces the reader to a huge field of research that has gone largely unnoticed by scholars of religion and culture. Written in a highly accessible style, this book is a must-read for everyone interested in the links between technology, virtuality, media, and humanity's future." (Kocku von Stuckrad, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Groningen, Netherlands) "Virtual Immortality offers a thorough and detailed exploration of how embedded and in-bodied technological innovations continue to stretch our ideas of what the limits of being human in the 21st century truly are. Krüger provides a useful who's who of key thinkers defining and pushing the boundaries of posthuman thought and existence." (Heidi A. Campbell, Professor of Communication & Presidential Impact Fellow, Texas A&M University)

»Krüger schafft argumentativ eine gute Balance zwischen nutzbarer Vision und kritischer Tatsachenbetrachtung, wodurch die Studie eine angemessene Divergenz aufweist. Dabei tritt er in kritische Distanz zu spiritueller Verblendung und benennt die Diffusität religiöser Argumente als solche und begreift diese Thesen als Hypothesen von denkbarer Möglichkeit. Diesbezüglich macht das Buch viel Spaß und stimuliert zum Weiterdenken.«
Tobias Bieseke, KULT_online, 66 (2022)

»Krüger observes the explicit or implicit relationship between posthumanism and religion (not only Christianity but also New Age spirituality), placing it in a historical and philosophical context. Moreover, he does so by employing a clear and accessible style, which makes the book a pleasure to read.«
Zuzana Marie Kostiová, Religious Studies Review, 48/2 (2022)

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	1
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	5
Foreword to the English Edition Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
A Who is Who? of Post- and Transhumanism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	15
1. Virtuality, Media, and Immortality. An Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
Part I Humans and Media
2. Virtuality
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	29
2.1 Virtuality and Time Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	31
2.2 Virtuality and Space Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	37
2.3 Virtuality and Corporeality Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	40
2.4 Virtuality, Reality, and the Imaginary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	43
3. Promethean Shame
3.1 Human Beings and Technology in the Work of Günther Anders Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	51
3.2 Virtuality and Death Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	55
Part II Technological Posthumanism
4. Transhumanism
4.1 Post- and Transhumanism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	61
4.2 Intellectual Predecessors and the Transhuman Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	62
4.3 Early Transhumanism: Ettinger, FM-2030, Leary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	68
4.4 The Extropy Institute and the (Vita-)Mores Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	75
4.5 The World Transhumanist Association / humanity+ Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	78
4.6 Other Actors and Institutions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	82
4.7 Religious and Spiritual Transhumanism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	87
4.8 Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	89
5. Technological Posthumanism
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	91
5.1 The Posthuman and Posthumanism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	92
5.2 The Face of Posthumanism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	95
5.3 Posthumanism and Art Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	105
6. A History of Technological Posthumanism
6.1 Writing the “History of the Future” Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	115
6.2 How We Became Posthuman Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	118
6.3 Annihilation or Infinite Progress Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	158
6.4 Singularities Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	197
6.5 Immortality Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	218
6.6 The Transcendental Superintelligence Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	260
6.7 Omega Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	276
7. Virtuality. Immortality in the Age of Digital Media
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	291
7.1 Economy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	292
7.2 Control and Contingency Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	297
7.3 Secular Progress and Christian Salvation History Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	301
7.4 The End of the Affronts Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	310
Appendix
List of Abbreviations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	317
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	319
Index of Names Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	348

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: transcript Verlag
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 356
Keywords: Transhumanism; Singularity; Futurology; Immortality; Artificial Intelligence; Ray Kurzweil; Nick Bostrom; Frank Tipler; Religion; Science; Sociology of Religion; Religious Studies; Sociology of Culture; Sociology of Science; Sociology

eBook

Published: October 27, 2021
ISBN: 9783839450598