Paper short abstract:

The tremendous development of modern science and technology gave rise to the emergence of 'human enhancement' and, eventually, the 'transhumanist movement'. This paper will attempt to explore the stance of Christian bioethics towards this movement and human enhancement in general.

Paper long abstract:

Body modification is an ancient phenomenon, as some practices, such as tattooing and piercing, appeared several thousand years before the birth of Christ. Moreover, body modification practices have a very interesting and also ethically controversial background, since they have been playing an important role for civilizations since ancient years, while the flourishing of these practices continues to this day.

This intertemporal desire of human beings to alter their bodies in combination with the contemporary emergence of body modification and the tremendous development of modern science and technology gave rise to the emergence of 'human enhancement' and, eventually, the 'transhumanist movement'. Human enhancement is the phenomenon in which humans go beyond their natural bodily limits and capabilities through the application of modern technologies, while its most extreme form, Transhumanism, is a class of philosophies that seeks 'the continued evolution of human life beyond its current human form as a result of science and technology guided by life-promoting principles and values.' Regarding human enhancement, two conflicting sides exist, 'transhumanists', who hold that people should be free to use modern technological means to transform themselves as they please, and 'bioconservatives', for whom, we should not change human biology and the human condition.

Between these two opposite sides, Christian theology, on the one hand, accepts the right of human beings to alter and enhance the world and themselves but, on the other, believes that everything, ergo the human body as well, is not our possession but God's, thus humans are not allowed to treat it as they please let alone distort it. Thus, what is the stance of Christian bioethics towards human enhancement and transhumanism? Is Christianity 'transhumanist' or 'bioconservative'? This is the question that this paper will answer.