Christian Hope and Transhumanism

Abstract Is Christian hope compatible with transhumanist hope? Can Christians be transhumanists? This essay examines these questions from the perspective of Thomas Aquinas’s descriptions of hope in Summa Theologiae. Section I presents a summary of transhumanism as it is represented by the transhumanist organization Humanity+. Section II summarizes Thomas Aquinas’s concept of hope in the Summa Theologiae and presents a Thomistic account of Christian hope for what humanity will become. Section III draws from Aquinas’s account of hope to construct an account of transhumanist hope. Section IV considers the possibility that Christian hope may be limitedly compatible with transhumanist hope. Section V shows that Christians cannot hope for what transhumanists hope because for what transhumanists hope cannot be considered good for humanity